One in sixteen Europeans cannot get their teeth fixed

According to the latest Eurostat data, published on 29 August 2025, in 2024, 6.3% of EU citizens over the age of 16 said they were unable to get the dental care they needed - due to a lack of money, long waiting lists or distance from clinics. This is a wake-up call for the health system: it is not just a toothache, but a symptom of social and health inequalities.

The picture differs sharply by country. Greece (27.1%), Latvia (16.5%) and Romania (16.2%) lead the way in terms of unmet need. In contrast, in Malta, Germany and Croatia, the problem affected less than 1.1% of the population. The tenfold difference is explained, among other things, by income levels, insurance structure and availability of health personnel.

The study pays special attention to vulnerable groups. Among those at risk of poverty, one in seven (13.7%) did not receive adequate dental care, compared to only 5.1% of the rest. In some places, the gap reaches appalling proportions. In Romania, for example, 43.5% of poor respondents reported a problem, compared with 12.6% of the better-off. In Greece, the difference was 30.1 percentage points (52.8% versus 22.7%).

However, there are also states where the social gap is minimal. In Germany, Poland and Malta, the proportion of people with unmet need does not differ by income level. This may indicate greater efficiency of social policy and access to basic health care regardless of status.

It is important to emphasise that the statistics only take into account the self-assessment of citizens: whether they had medical needs over the past year that remained unmet. We are talking about a subjective need - a person felt that he or she needed treatment, but did not seek or did not receive it.