You Have to Book an Appointment with the Dentist Six Months in Advance 0 22

Although the National Health Service (NHS) reported to the publication "Latvijas Avīze" that the average waiting time for a child to see a state-funded dentist is two months, the reality is that in the second half of the year, many dental clinics are fully booked until the end of the year.

For example, the company "Ģimenes zobārstniecība," which has branches throughout Vidzeme, is not making new appointments for routine care for children until the end of the year, said the chairwoman of the board of this medical institution, Terese Berzupa. The same situation exists at the medical center "Liepājas centra zobārstniecība," and at the Latvian Institute of Dentistry, if a child or teenager does not suffer from acute tooth pain and a consultation with a pediatric dentist is needed on a routine basis, it will have to be waited for up to four years, said Dr. Julia Kalnina, a medical doctor, certified dentist, and certified pediatric dentist, who has been treating children's and teenagers' teeth for 16 years.

In 2024, nearly 10 million euros were additionally allocated from the state budget for dental care for children and adolescents, bringing the total amount of funds allocated for this purpose to 34,075,275 euros. The amount remained unchanged in 2025. However, considering that in many regions the state quotas have already been exhausted, it can be concluded that the funding is insufficient.

Despite a slight increase in rates for pediatric dentistry, dentists say that the situation regarding the availability of services has remained virtually unchanged for many years. The main problem, as reported by the heads of several clinics and the dentists themselves, lies not so much in funding as in the shortage of pediatric dentists. The Latvian Medical Society reports that there are currently only 22 certified pediatric dentists working across the country.