Prices are increasing for the most part.
This means that more Norwegians have bad advice, and have to prioritize hard where the money should go.
TV 2 has previously reported that several dentists see a disturbing trend of more people canceling dental appointments due to poor finances.
Now they fear that the high number of cancellations could lead to more people getting the disease periodontitis.
The teeth may fall out
Odd Carsten Koldsland is associate professor in periodontics at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Oslo.
He fears that more Norwegians will not be diagnosed with periodontitis until the disease has developed too much. He says that if the disease is not detected early, more people will have to pay even more for the treatment.
DENTIST: Odd Carsten Koldsland sounds the alarm about dental health. Photo: Jan Unneberg
– If you don’t go to the dentist regularly, it will be more expensive. Just like you have to maintain your car, you have to maintain your teeth.
It was The online newspaper who mentioned the matter first.
Not a few Norwegians are affected by the disease. Koldsland says that as many as ten percent of the population will need treatment for the disease during their lifetime.
– What is most precarious are those who know they have the disease and who are in what we call a maintenance phase. If they do not get to the dentist between three and four times a year, the disease may flare up again.
– In the worst case, the disease can cause the teeth to fall out, says Koldsland.
Patients have bigger problems
Koldsland is itself a specialist in the field. He says that he sees a clear trend in the patients who come to him.
– I see that my patients have greater problems paying now than they had before.
– Those who come to me are people I don’t want to see go untreated. Then the disease can flare up again, says Koldsland.
He is now worried that more people with periodontitis will experience a relapse of the disease because they cannot afford to attend the appointment.
CONCERNS: More people are now worried about people’s dental health. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
– It is worrying that the government went to the polls on better dental health, but then nothing happens to those who need it the most.
According to Koldsland, it is possible to get some reimbursement for treatment of periodontitis, but that you do not get the full amount back. And because the prices also increase for equipment that dentists need, the price of dental treatment also increases.
– It is a problem, especially when for several years there has been a smaller increase in reimbursement than the increase in prices.
– Concerned
Periodontitis also worries the Norwegian Dental Association.
– The situation worries us. Especially because some of those in the group most at risk of developing severe periodontitis do not go to the dentist regularly, says president of the Dental Association Heming Olsen-Bergem.
He says that these are people who tend to have a low income and low social status.
– It has not been fully researched, but we can see from the statistics that these are also people who smoke the most.
PRESIDENT: Heming Olsen-Bergem is president of the Norwegian Dental Association. Photo: Kristin Aksnes / The Times
Olsen-Bergem also emphasizes that it is absolutely necessary that the disease is detected in an early phase so that the disease does not develop into a more serious stage.
– We know that the financial situation of people means that they do not go to the dentist.
– The problem with the disease is that if it is not detected in an early phase, it can develop into something more serious. Then you not only lose your teeth, but the infection can also spread further in the body, says Olsen-Bergem.
Early signs
If it’s been a long time since you’ve been to the dentist, Olsen-Bergem says that periodontitis is a disease that can only be detected by examinations and X-rays.
– The earliest sign of periodontitis is that you can bleed very easily from the gums, for example if you eat something that is a little harder. It does not have to be periodontitis, but it is important to check it.
MAINTENANCE: Going to the dentist is not as important as brushing your teeth. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
– We are worried that more people will go untreated now because of the financial conditions. If the economic situation continues, the chance of more people dropping out of going to the dentist will increase.
Big increase
Numbers from Statistics Sweden shows that 150,000 Norwegians could not afford to go to the dentist if needed in 2021. The dentists are now starting to notice.
Sverre Skimmeland is general manager at Bergen Dental Clinic. He has previously told TV 2 that at their clinic they have seen a clear change in their customers.
– In the last month and a half, there has been approximately a 100 per cent increase in cancellations of annual dental appointments due to patients’ finances, he says.
Skimmeland has also noticed another detail.
– What is completely new is that patients with acute problems and pain refuse treatment due to finances.
