Serbia Faces Oral Health Crisis: 700,000 Citizens Toothless, NGO Warns

The findings released by the NGO "Doctors Against Corruption" paint a grim picture of oral health in Serbia, revealing that a staggering 700,000 citizens, or 11.1% of the adult population, are completely toothless. This statistic, released during Serbia's annual Oral Health Week, is not just a number; it represents a significant public health issue with profound social and economic implications. The organization emphasizes that this rate of edentulism is alarmingly high compared to developed nations, indicating a systemic failure in providing adequate dental care.

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The NGO "Doctors Against Corruption" warned today, on the occasion of the annual Oral Health Week in Serbia, that the percentage of adults who have all their teeth is only 8.3 percent, and that 11.1 percent, or 700,000 citizens, have no teeth at all, which indicates aspects of disability.

The report further details the severity of the problem across different age groups. For individuals aged 65 and above, the rate of toothlessness exceeds 40%, a figure far exceeding that in countries like Italy or Slovenia. Even among younger populations, the situation is concerning, with only 36% of 12-year-olds and 22% of 15-year-olds having all their natural teeth. These figures suggest that oral health issues, such as caries and periodontal disease, are not being effectively managed from an early age, leading to long-term consequences.

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Unfortunately, although dentistry consumes five percent of the total annual health expenditure, which in Serbia is 10 percent of gross domestic product, the nation's oral health is alarming compared to the hundreds of millions of euros invested.

"Doctors Against Corruption" critically points to the disconnect between high public spending on dental services and the poor state of national oral health. Despite a substantial budget allocated to state dentistry, the NGO argues that the quality and accessibility of care, particularly for protected categories like children, pregnant women, and the elderly, remain inadequate. They highlight the slow pace of state dental services, citing an average of only 1.6 fillings per day per dentist and 33 prosthetics annually, as evidence of systemic inefficiency. The organization also identifies a conflict of interest, where state dentists can simultaneously practice privately, potentially diverting resources and attention from public sector obligations.

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On the simple, but important question for at least half a million older toothless fellow citizens: about the timeframe for exercising the right to prosthetic replacements at the expense of the RFZO, the answer is silence!

To address this crisis, the NGO proposes a straightforward solution: demonopolizing the financing of dental care by allowing private dentists to contract with the Republic Health Insurance Fund (RFZO). They argue that this would expand the network of available providers, foster competition, increase efficiency, and ultimately improve citizens' right to choose their dentist. This call for reform reflects a broader sentiment in Serbia that systemic changes are needed to ensure that public health spending translates into tangible improvements in the well-being of its citizens.

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Demonopolization of financing leads to the expansion of supply, which would achieve a breakthrough in the right to free choice of dentist with a strong increase in competitiveness and efficiency of the entire service.