Dental Care in Denmark

As an expat it is important to get your dental care in order, before it becomes an emergency. Once you have settled and gotten your CPR / medical insurance card /sundhedskort, you should start looking around for a dentist.

Even though the cost of dental care is subsidised through the danish health care system, the majority of the cost is paid by you. For that reason, you are free to choose any dentist that you like. You do not need a referral from your doctor, but you may wish to talk to coworkers about who they use or like.

Another way to search for a dentist is to use the Dental Union Website.

Click on "For Patienter", than on "Vejvisere" and than "find en tandlæge". When you get to the page, you fill out the form. If you know the name of a dentist or clinic, you can enter the name. The easiest way to search is to just put in your postcode or postnummber. This will be a 4 digit number. You can also enter your city name /bynavn and than hit "søg".

This will give you a very comprehensive list.

A list will have:

The name of clinics Klinik

The address Adresse

City they are located in By

Telephone number Telefon

Web address and email

A dentist is called a tandlæge or tooth doctor.

The health care system will pay a small portion of your dental treatment costs, if you are over 18 years of age. For basic hygiene visits (check-up, scaling & polishing - dental cleaning) you pay about 60% of the cost, and get about 40% covered by the state. For other basic treatments like basic extraction and periodontitis (advanced gum infection) treatments you get also a good support. For other treatments you will pay 90-100% of the cost.

There is a special support from the local municipality (kommune) for people on social help, and sometimes for the students with (emergency) need.

If you are under the age of 18, you get free dental care including orthodontic treatment (if the treatment is recommended by the specialist).

Between the age 18 to  25, you will get a small rebate on basic dental treatment.

You will need to pay the fee when you leave the dentist, unless you make arrangements with them. The fee you pay will already include the subsidy. You may want to consider getting additional insurance to help lower your costs if you need lots of dental work. It can get expensive.

 There are also special loans for dental treatment (usually require that you have a regular income).

The most popular health insurance in Denmark is (sygeforsikringdanmark) which is indeed a non-profit union of its members and not a regular commercial company: www.sygeforsikring.dk

A specialized insurance in dental care is: www.dansktandforsikring.dk

Learn about the health care system in Denmark.

Emergency Dental Treatment

If you experience severe toothaches or other dental problems outside your dentist's opening hours, there are emergency clinics available. You can get this number from your own dentist or look to up in your local phone book.

An Emergency Dentist is called a Tandlægevagten.

Below is a list of tandlægevagten for various areas. Again best to talk with your own dentist for their recommendations. You can also check out after hour dental treatment for a list of emergency contacts.

Most of the places do not have a phone number, just an address. The emergency clinics do not take appointments. You just show up and wait your turn.

Copenhagen: Oslo Plads 14,2100 København Ø (close to Østerport Station)

Nord Sjælland: Call 70 25 00 41 for a dentist who does house calls.

* There is a new emergency contact in Hillerød. For a complete list of the capitol region check out www.tdlvagt.dk

Odense /Funen: Heden 7, 3., 5000 Odense C

Esbjerg: Sundhedshuset Sct. Joseph, Nørregade 63A, 6700 Esbjerg.

Århus: Tandklinikken på Brobjergskolen, Frederiks Allé 20, Århus tlf: 40 51 51 62

Holstebro: At the hospital next to the emergency doctor, corner of Enghavevej / Danmarksgade Roads

Aalborg: Filstedvej 10, 9000 Aalborg

Remember, you must pay for emergency care. Children will still be free, since the kommune will pay for the care.

Final Notes on Dental Care in Denmark

• To make an appointment just call your dentist.
• Make sure to bring your health insurance card with you and scan it upon arriving. There will be a card reader near the desk. It may not be manned, depending on the size of your clinic.
• If you need to cancel an appointment, make sure you call in plenty of time. Usually 24 hours in advance or you may get charged for your missed appointment. Discuss this with your dentist, so you know the rules.
• Ask your dentist to send you reminders for cleanings and routine care. You have to ask or they may not contact you. Many now you automative text messaging. 
• In Denmark, doctors are addressed very informally. It is the norm to call them by their first name. You do not call them Doctor.
• If you live in Copenhagen, it can pay to think about going to Malmo, Sweden for dental care. The costs are lower, yet you will want to factor in the cost of travel by train, time off from work for the trip, the fact you are covered by the state for any dental problems or mistakes that may occur since the treatment was outside of Denmark.
• If you live in either Copenhagen or Arhus, you can get reduced dental costs if you are willing to let dental students work on you! Copenhagen has the Copenhagen School of Dentistry and Arhus has Arhus School of Dentistry. Treatment is done by advanced students under the supervision of professional teachers. There are usually waiting lists for this service.

Learn more about the health care system in Denmark.

FYI Denmark wants to thank Tandlæge Emad Ayesh for his input on some important updates to dental treatment in Denmark page.  

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