Some patients unaware planned denture benefit update was scrapped by cuts

Last spring, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced that dental benefits would cover dentures starting in 2025. However, due to budget cuts, the change was never implemented. Now, Estonian dentists are left clearing up confusion as some patients still believe the policy took effect.
Under current law, annual dental care benefits cannot be used to pay for denture work — even if that is the only dental care a patient may need.
Last year, the Ministry of Social Affairs planned to amend the law to allow dental benefits to be used according to a patient's individual oral health needs, including for denture coverage.
This planned change was featured in the news, and even now, the ministry's website states that starting in 2025, old age or incapacity for work pensioners, those over 63 as well as those with partial or no work ability will be able to apply not just denture benefits but also their annual dental care benefits toward denture work.
Although the announcement only described a bill rather than an implemented change — and the change was ultimately never actually implemented — it has nevertheless sparked significant confusion.
Kersti Pedanik, chief dentist at Läänemere Dental Clinic in Tallinn, wrote to the ministry describing how patients are seeking dental care firmly believing they can apply their dental care benefits to pay for denture work. Some even show up for their appointments with printed-out news articles in hand.
"Unfortunately, patients often take news reports at face value and don't confirm their accuracy — or don't know how to do so," she said. "I'm sadly certain the average patient doesn't check the entry of legal provisions into force in the State Gazette (Riigi Teataja) either."
The dentist noted that she, personally, has verified the circumstances and knows the planned change was never enacted, but an internet search only turns up news articles about the benefit change — not about its cancellation.
"We have explained to patients that nothing involving denture benefits has changed, but we can see that some patients remain skeptical of our response because, after all, the news said that the change would take effect in 2025," she said, describing the difficult situations that have arisen at their office. "We see firsthand that patients don't realize that the change described in last year's news articles was merely a proposal, not a definitive decision."

Pedanik believes that as patients may not have realized last year that the plan described was only a proposal, the Ministry of Social Affairs should be the one to provide them with accurate information regarding the actual current conditions.
Ministry communications adviser Neeme Raidvere acknowledged that the Ministry of Social Affairs submitted the bill of amendments to the Health Insurance Act for a coordination round last April, but it was never passed into law.
"Due to the difficult circumstances of last year's state budget, the bill's proceedings were suspended," Raidvere explained. "The bill passed its first coordination round, but fall budget cuts halted further progress in proceedings."
The planned change would have cost the Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF) an additional €6 million a year.
Planned change on hold, not scrapped altogether
According to the communications adviser, the ministry hopes to revisit and continue working on the bill in the future, but doing so will hinge on improvements in the state budget situation.
"Although the legislative amendment was halted, people over 63, recipients of incapacity for work and old-age pensions as well as those with reduced work capacity still remain entitled to €260 in denture benefits over a three-year period," Raidvere highlighted.
When the Ministry of Social Affairs introduced the planned update last year, Health Minister Riina Sikkut (SDE) justified the change with the fact that the burden of copayments in healthcare is high and that denture work is one of the most expensive services in the sector.
Allowing dental care benefits to be applied toward denture work as well, she noted, would have helped ease healthcare expenses for pensioners.
As of 2024, the annual general adult dental care benefit increased to €60. More vulnerable groups, including the elderly, unemployed, pregnant people and those with reduced work capacity, are entitled to €105 a year.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla