The State of Dental Care in Estonia
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Information Hour
Date: 2025-11-05 14:34
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 12
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 15m
AI Summaries: 12/12 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The third item on the agenda addressed the state of dental care in Estonia, a topic raised by Riigikogu member Lauri Laats to Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller. Laats stressed the direct connection between oral health and overall well-being and presented alarming statistics: out of 1.3 million residents, only 327,000 people annually utilize the Health Insurance Fund’s 60-euro dental care reimbursement. Laats argued that the primary barrier to visiting the dentist is financial hardship, citing studies showing that people are forced to take out quick loans to cover dental treatment costs, especially among young people. Minister Joller acknowledged the importance of oral health but emphasized the critical role of prevention, hygiene habits, and healthy eating. She noted that the state has increased benefits, treatment is free for children (though the attendance rate is only 60%), and future plans include better targeting of services toward lower-income individuals and sending reminders to parents. The discussion grew heated when Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart posed a supplementary question regarding the Ministry of Social Affairs’ alleged inefficient use of European Social Fund money (project managers’ salaries, seminars, trips) instead of developing services for children with special needs. Minister Joller rejected the accusations, defending the necessity of inclusion during reforms and accusing the questioner of unethical behavior and presenting factual inaccuracies. The session chair requested that participants refrain from personal attacks.
Decisions Made 1
No decisions were made
Most Active Speaker
Lauri Laats was an active questioner who highlighted specific data regarding the low utilization of dental care services and emphasized the role of financial obstacles. His presentation of the topic was specific and focused on a social problem (other).
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar introduced the third question, which Riigikogu member Lauri Laats would be addressing to Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller regarding the state of dental care in Estonia, before then giving the floor to Laats.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats is requesting a specific overview of the state of dental care in Estonia from the minister responsible for health, emphasizing the importance of oral health to overall well-being. He asks what percentage of the population utilizes the service annually, what the main obstacles are, and what solutions the government has implemented to address the issue, given that, according to his data, a large portion of the population does not visit the dentist.
Sotsiaalminister Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Social Minister Karmen Joller, drawing on her experience as a family doctor, confirms that oral health is critical for overall well-being, including heart attack risk and the success rate of implants. However, she notes that the dental hygiene and nutrition habits of the Estonian population are problematic. She highlights that although dental care reimbursements and free treatment for children are available, their utilization is low (for instance, only 60% of children visit the dentist). Therefore, there are plans to improve awareness, send reminders to parents, and redesign the adult benefits system so that it better reaches less affluent individuals in need of assistance.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chairman, Lauri Hussar, thanked the audience and then yielded the floor to Lauri Laats, who had a clarifying question.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats highlighted alarming figures showing that only a small portion of the population uses dental care services. The main obstacle is financial hardship, which forces people—especially young people—to take out payday loans just to maintain their oral health. He stressed that this inability to cope negatively impacts the entire healthcare budget, and the state currently lacks a clear action plan to remedy the situation.
Sotsiaalminister Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Social Minister Karmen Joller emphasizes the paramount importance of oral health prevention and personal responsibility (healthy lifestyles, hygiene habits), noting that the state has already offered solutions, including a 60-euro subsidy for check-ups and free dental care for people with special needs. However, when compiling the healthcare budget, other diseases and influencing factors must also be considered, and the Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa) is designing services to better assist people with lower incomes.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanked the previous speaker and then gave the floor to Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to ask a follow-up question.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart criticizes the Ministry of Social Affairs, pointing out that over 6 million euros allocated from the European Social Fund and the state budget for developing services for children with special needs has been spent, following the example of the Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa), on project managers’ salaries, motivational events, and internal seminars for officials, rather than on providing real support services to those in need. She is therefore demanding intervention and explanations regarding the situation.
Sotsiaalminister Karmen Joller
AI Summary
Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller defended the Ministry of Social Affairs' extensive involvement of specialists, supported by European social funds, in preparing special welfare reforms. She emphasized that this is necessary for creating substantive legislation and rejected accusations of inefficiency. Joller criticized the questioner for unethical behavior and relying on articles containing factual errors, stating that she expects constructive and ethical questions in the future.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar, who was simultaneously chairing the session, made a procedural clarification, asking participants to avoid labeling and any tone that might cause offense during the discussion. He then concluded the handling of the third agenda item and, before proceeding to the fourth question, gave the floor to Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart for a procedural matter.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart thanked the presiding officer for the intervention and the pertinent remark, stressing that both ministers and members of the Riigikogu should refrain from labeling and judging questions in the chamber, and should instead focus on providing constructive answers.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar clarified that although the question presented did not directly concern the situation of dental care in Estonia, but rather the aspect of its financing, it was indirectly related to the topic, which is why the minister was able to answer it, and he did so.