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Dental check-ups
The interval between check-ups should follow your risk, not a habit. Children are covered by public programmes across the region; adults mostly are not, and that shows in the statistics.
This page describes screening programmes; it is not a diagnosis, not a personal risk assessment and not a substitute for your own health service. Age bands are set nationally and change — the invitation you receive, and the body named on your country page, outrank anything written here. Screening is for people without symptoms: a new lump, blood you can see, a mole that has changed, unexplained weight loss or a sudden change in vision or hearing needs a clinician now, whatever a recent screening result said.
Where it is organised
Nowhere in this region as an invitation programme. That is a decision rather than an oversight, and the section below explains the reasoning. It also means nothing will arrive in the post: if this is something you want checked, you have to ask for it.
The six-month interval is a convention
There is no strong evidence behind six months. It is a habit that hardened into a rule, and the guidance that has actually examined it recommends setting the interval by risk instead: someone with no decay, healthy gums, no dry mouth and a good routine may safely go a year or two between examinations, while someone with active decay, gum disease or a dry mouth from medication may need to be seen every few months. Ask your dentist what interval they are recommending for you and why. "Six months" without a reason is a diary entry, not a clinical decision.
What the examination is actually looking for
Decay is only part of it. A dentist checks the gums for the pockets and bleeding that mark periodontal disease — which is painless until teeth loosen, is the leading cause of adult tooth loss, and is strongly linked to smoking and to poorly controlled diabetes. They also examine the soft tissues of the mouth, tongue and throat for the ulcers and patches that can indicate oral cancer. Mouth cancer has no screening programme anywhere in this region and is very strongly associated with smoking and alcohol together; the dental chair is essentially where it gets found.
Children are covered; adults mostly are not
Every country in the region funds dental care for children, generally free until adulthood, and several run additional programmes — sealants on the biting surfaces of the permanent molars, fluoride varnish, and school dental services. It is worth using all of it, because the childhood pattern is a strong predictor of the adult one. Adult dental care is where the systems diverge sharply: some countries offer a partial reimbursement, others nearly nothing, and cost is a real and well-documented barrier to attendance. Check what your own country reimburses before assuming you cannot afford an examination.
Between appointments
The parts that matter most are unglamorous and free. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, cleaning between the teeth where a brush cannot reach, and — the detail most people get wrong — spitting after brushing rather than rinsing, so the fluoride stays on the teeth. Frequency of sugar matters more than quantity: a can of soft drink sipped over an afternoon does more damage than the same can drunk in five minutes. Bleeding gums are not normal and are the earliest visible sign of the disease that eventually costs people their teeth.
Sources: National dental services and children’s dental programmes in the Nordic and Baltic countries · checked 2026-09-07
Häufige Fragen
How often should I see a dentist?
It should follow your risk rather than a fixed rule. Low-risk adults with healthy gums and no decay can safely go a year or more; people with active decay, gum disease or a dry mouth need to be seen more often. Ask what interval is being recommended and why.
Why do dentists check the gums and not just the teeth?
Because gum disease is painless until teeth loosen and is the leading cause of adult tooth loss. The examination also checks the soft tissues for signs of oral cancer, which has no screening programme anywhere in this region.
Is dental care free for children?
Across the Nordic and Baltic region children’s dental care is publicly funded, generally free until adulthood, and several countries add sealant and fluoride varnish programmes. Adult cover varies enormously between countries.
Should I rinse after brushing?
No. Spitting without rinsing leaves the fluoride on the teeth, where it does its work. Rinsing washes away most of the benefit of the toothpaste you just used.
The rest of the surface
Breast cancer screening (mammography)
An X-ray of each breast, read by two radiologists, repeated every two years across a band of ages that starts at 40 in Sweden and 50 almost everywhere else. What it finds, what it misses and what a call-back means.
Cervical screening (HPV test)
Almost every country in the region has switched from looking for abnormal cells to looking for the virus that causes them. The test is better, so the gap between tests is longer — and in several countries you can now take the sample yourself.
Bowel cancer screening (stool test)
A sample from one bowel movement, taken at home and posted. It is the only screening programme in the region that routinely prevents cancers rather than only finding them early — because the follow-up removes the polyp.
Prostate screening (PSA)
Latvia and Lithuania fund PSA testing for men in their fifties and sixties. Sweden assessed the same evidence and recommends against an organised programme. Here is what the trials actually found.
Lung cancer screening (low-dose CT)
The trials are positive and the European recommendation asks countries to build programmes stepwise. In this region it is still pilots rather than invitations — but the eligibility rule is worth knowing.
What screening can and cannot do
Overdiagnosis, false positives, interval cases and lead-time bias — the four ideas behind every disagreement between countries.
All 27 screening pagesIf the result is not normal
The record that makes the appointment shorter
TempoLife keeps weight, blood pressure, sleep and symptoms in one place, so the questions you get asked at a screening appointment already have answers.