[kennu]

That sounds just silly. Here in Finland, we can actually choose to either use free public dental care, or go to a more expensive private doctor and pay the difference.

Dental care is essential. Even if you don't have pain, constant inflammation can cause you all sorts of problems.

[_delirium]

Oddly enough, here in Denmark, which otherwise has very strong social services, dentists for adults aren't covered, though their cost is partly subsidized (dental care for children is covered).

[bjornsing]

Same in Sweden. There's even been some scandals about local governments refusing to pay for (more expensive) treatments for people who cannot afford them and are on welfare, instead having their teeth pulled out. Rather sad for a country with a 45-50% total tax burden. :/

[itmag]

Yeah, I always thought it was odd that I had to get a special insurance for dental work. This is supposed to be a socialist land of milk & honey, not cold-hearted America :p

Sweden used to be all about reaping the benefits of both capitalism and socialism, but now our gov't seems to take a perverse joy in making it a "worst of both worlds" type of country.

I would be curious to know what countries today offer what Sweden used to offer. New Zeeland? Canada? Denmark?

[mwilcox]

Same in New Zealand. Free for under 18, but after that you have to pay. However, if you have an accident and need medical care, it's covered under the government. If it's due to negligence, then, well, you're responsible.

When I was a child (8 or 9, can't remember) I chipped my front tooth on a trampoline. All my checkups, x-rays, caps, etc., and eventually a root canal and crown were covered, even 10 years afterwards.

[megablast]

Dentists are not covered in Australia, but are in the UK. I had to go to a free Dental Hospital, which does emergency work for free.

[justincormack]

Again not all dental work is free in the uk either.

[bobwebb]

I think it depends. There are NHS dentists and private dentists. I think the private ones' main advantage is that they have shorter waiting lists.

[DanBC]

People pay for treatment under the NHS. The cost is very much less than private dentists. Some people (limited income) get free treatment.

Children get free treatment.

Finding an NHS dentist can be tricky.

[cybertron]

Same goes for america if you are on medicaid. They only cover up to 21 years and then they drop you, as if dentist work is merely cosmetic. And even with private insurance, across the board, only 50% is covered, so that root canal is still going to cost you about $750 out of pocket. It's a total joke.

[hpaavola]

Dental care in Finland is not free, only heavily subsidized. The prices vary a bit from district to district, here are the prices for Helsinki http://www.hel.fi/hki/terke/en/Patient+Fees/Table+of+patient...

So for example removal of tooth would be: dentist 9.60 € /visit + tooth removal 13.80 – 27.50 €

[kennu]

You are right of course, I just count it as "free" when the payment is pretty much symbolic compared to the real cost.