All Icelandic Children Now With Right To Free Dental Care

All Icelandic kids aged 2 and up with a registered dentist now have the right to free dental care.

The change is a part of a process that began in May 2013, RÚV reports, when free dental care was granted to the oldest child in any given family. With the completion of this final phase, all children from 2 to 18 can now receive free dental care, regardless of the income level of their parents.

Hólmfríður Guðmundsdóttir, a dentist at the Directorate of Health, told listeners of radio station Rás 1 this morning that the policy is “an important family rights matter” for Iceland.

In order to qualify for the service, children need to have a registered dentist, and to agree to check ups no more seldom than twice a year. Registration costs 2,500 ISK per year, and can be done through the Réttindagátt page of the Icelandic Health Insureance site. There is an English page for those who do not understand Icelandic, but for more information on registering a dentist, questions can be sent to sjukra@sjukra.is, or they can be called at 515 0000.