The city had planned to sell Tallinn Dental Clinic and even commissioned an analysis to determine whether a sale would be reasonable. However, the results of the analysis led the city government to abandon the idea, Ossinovski (SDE) said.

A more sensible option is to merge the dental clinic with the planned unified hospital, which is expected to consolidate at least all city-owned hospitals. If negotiations with the state conclude positively, North Estonia Medical Centre (PERH) could also be included.

"In the future, the volume and organization of dental care provided by the city would then be determined by the new unified institution. So, during this city government's mandate, there are no plans to sell it," Ossinovski said.

Tallinn's internal audit office had on several occasions — such as in 2018 and 2022 — recommended considering either the divestment of the foundation or its merger with a city-owned hospital. The situation became particularly pressing last year when the newly appointed city government replaced both the foundation's supervisory board and management after identifying governance issues.

At the same time, a decision was made to assess whether the city needs to compete with the private sector in the dental care market at the current scale.

"The analysis showed that there are indeed certain dental care services that make sense to provide through a municipal hospital — for example, neighborhood dental care, which West Tallinn Central Hospital's health centers already offer. In addition, there is a public interest in certain dental services, such as after-hours care and emergency dental treatment. These types of functions could reasonably be provided by local government health care institutions," Ossinovski explained.

The mayor did not rule out that, in the future, it may no longer be reasonable to compete with the private sector at the current level of dental care services.

"But the current analysis suggests that selling the dental clinic could pose a risk that important dental services for the city might be disrupted and that it would not be possible to transfer them to, for example, West Tallinn Central Hospital at the same scale. We are now taking the step of consolidating the hospitals, and the unified institution will then decide the extent and scale of routine dental services to be provided," the mayor said.

According to Ossinovski, after the leadership changes, a stable working environment has been restored at the dental clinic.

"I would say that, as of today, the organization is functioning well and there are no significant issues. Even the previous management's highly questionable decision to purchase a mobile dental trailer has been turned into a workable business model by the new leadership," he said.

"There is no acute problem with the institution. It is profitable and continues to serve patients. Therefore, there's no need to make any rushed decisions," Ossinovski added.

Tallinn Dental Clinic, a city-owned foundation established in 2004, employs nearly 200 people.

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