11.02.2026 at 06.45
Performance audit

Preventive oral health care for children and young people

The oral health of children and young people has only a marginal role in the operational planning and management of the wellbeing services counties, although there is strong evidence of oral health being closely linked to general health and common chronic diseases. Oral health and particularly the promotion of the oral health of children and young people should be incorporated into the statutory health and wellbeing promotion activities carried out in cooperation between the wellbeing services counties and municipalities. The foundation for good oral health is created in childhood.

Photo: Getty Images

Download report: NAOF's conclusions and recommendations: Preventive oral health care for children and young people PDF 183 KB

Scope of the audit

Consideration of the preventive oral health care of children and young people in the planning, management and monitoring of health and social services.
Fulfilment of the obligations related to preventive oral health care for children and young people.
Consideration of the preventive oral health care for children and young people in the statutory activities for promoting health and wellbeing.

Key findings

The promotion of the oral health and the preventive services for children and young people have only a marginal role in the operational planning and management of the wellbeing services counties.
Problems with information systems and statistics hamper the monitoring and use of data in management.
Inconsistent invitation practices can leave some children outside the services.
The transition from adolescence to adulthood increases the risk of dropping out of oral health care services.
Cooperation between the wellbeing services counties and municipalities is not yet established in the promotion of oral health.

Briefly

According to the Health Care Act, the provision of oral health care services is based on the principle that dental examinations and the monitoring of oral health can influence the oral health of children, young people and the population as a whole.

As a rule, oral health care is organised in the wellbeing services counties as a clear entity, and legislation sets the framework for the implementation of oral health care for children and young people. However, preventive oral health care for children and young people is not reflected in the strategic plans of the wellbeing services counties, nor in the statutory plans for promoting health and wellbeing. Varying interpretations of regulations in practical work lead to differences in how dental examinations are carried out, and the lack of uniform invitation practices may result in some children and young people being left outside the examinations. Multi-professional cooperation in oral health care functions well for the most part, but lack of resources and the need to strengthen competence pose challenges. There is insufficient financial information on oral health care, and it is not possible to distinguish between the costs of children and young people and the total costs of oral health care. Nor is there any information on the resources and costs of preventive activities.

The foundation for oral health is created in childhood.

Annually, public oral health care services are used by

1/3

of the population

Recommendations of the National Audit Office

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the wellbeing services counties and the City of Helsinki should cooperate to improve the accuracy of information describing oral health care activities by ensuring that patient information on oral health care is documented in a uniform manner and that data transfer between information systems is seamless.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare should draw up national guidelines on invitation practices for oral health examinations and on responding to absences. These measures could improve the coverage of oral health examinations for children and young people.

The wellbeing services counties and the City of Helsinki should incorporate oral health and particularly the promotion of oral health for children and young people into their broader health and wellbeing promotion work. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare should monitor how oral health has been taken into account in the planning and practical implementation of the promotion of health and wellbeing and in the related reporting.