Dental health: children and young adults will be entitled to a free annual check-up

French people under 24 will soon be entitled to a free annual check-up with the dentist, the French health insurance agency announced on November 7, thus focusing its dental prevention measures on younger people. If we can do this every year until the age of 24, we will have achieved a turning point: an entire generation will have its dental capital preserved.", assured Marguerite Cazeneuve, deputy director of health insurance, to AFP. Promoting dental health from a young age is a game changer.“ 

Currently, 3- to 24-year-olds can already benefit from a free annual checkup every three years, a measure that benefits approximately two million patients per year, according to the French Health Insurance. This consultation includes an oral examination and an awareness meeting with the dentist. Reimbursement also includes any necessary care.

In the years following the introduction of these free consultations, established in 2006, the rate of young people affected by Carries has declined, a trend that health authorities want to further accentuate to achieve a "cavity-free generation." To this end, they plan to accelerate the frequency of these free checkups, which will be offered annually to 3- to 24-year-olds starting in 2025.

A lower reimbursement rate

Health insurance also plans to carry out more awareness-raising activities in schools and to seek to communicate better with the public. the furthest from dental care", for example in priority educational establishments in order to reach the most disadvantaged.

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These measures were announced even though the French health insurance system lowered its dental care reimbursement rates last year, shifting a larger share to mutual insurance companies, which have threatened to raise their rates. However, Ms. Cazeneuve downplayed the idea that the health insurance system would use the savings made in this area to fund dental prevention initiatives for younger people. These are two very different subjects, even if we can explain that the objective is to invest directly in prevention." she explained.