2023-10-13 20:34:19
According to a recent study, more than 26% of Swiss people would give up dental care for financial reasons. A trend that is likely to increase with the recent increase in health insurance premiums. Testimonials.
Around 26% of the Swiss population gave up dental treatment or examination for cost reasons in 2020, according to a study by the International Health Policy Survey. An increase which would represent almost a third compared to 2016.
In Switzerland, dental care is not reimbursed in basic compulsory health insurance. In international comparison, forgoing care is more significant in our country than in France (18.5%) or Germany, but less significant than in the United States (36.2%).
A hefty bill
Jeanne is one of the Swiss who gave up dental care for several years. A fear that dates back to childhood. “When I was little, I had several cavities. The dentist I went to pulled my teeth out, without anesthesia,” she testifies.
Traumatized, Jeanne avoids visits to the dentist until the day she no longer has a choice: she suffers from an autoimmune disease. “My teeth started to fall out. I went to several offices who told me that the cost of treatment varied between 6,000 and 8,000 francs. Retired, it was impossible for me to pay this amount,” she continues.
>> Read also: Orthodontic practices deemed “unacceptable” revealed by the RTS
Jeanne is forced to go to Point d’eau, a Lausanne foundation which offers low-cost dental care to vulnerable populations. “I’m Swiss, I’ve worked all my life and I can’t afford dental care. It’s really a shame,” she adds.
Migrants, retirees, students or single-parent families… For the patients of the Point d’eau foundation, dental care remains a luxury. “We have two offices but we cannot meet the demand. We are completely saturated,” explains its director François Chéraz. “It’s the pain that pushes people to come see us. As long as it’s bearable, people don’t go to the dentist,” he adds.
Cheaper care
Many patients are turning to alternative solutions in order to find affordable care.
In Geneva, the University Dental Medicine Clinic trains future dentists. In 2022, the establishment changed its pricing system to attract more patients. Previously, discounts were 25% for all non-prosthetic treatments and 40% for prosthetic treatments. They are now set according to the level of training: 70% for treatments carried out by non-graduate students and 25% for treatments by dentists in specialist training.
Some 10,000 people per year are followed at the clinic. “If we have a dental problem and we delay treating it, the consequences can be serious and lead to complications. This impacts our general health,” explains Serge Borgis, operational director of the dental clinic.
In French-speaking Switzerland, the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Neuchâtel have already voted on cantonal insurance for dental care. All the proposals were swept aside.
TV subject: Marion Tinguely
Adaptation web: saje
1697234389
#people #Switzerland #giving #dental #care #rts.ch