Nine specialty dentists work in Folktandvården in Jönköping County and they are fully qualified. The fact that the age for free dental care has been increased to 23 years and that many new arrivals are in great need of dental regulation has meant that the sex is long.
There is also a growing interest in the purely cosmetic, but the biggest reason for the waiting period of about two years to get a dental position is the lack of specialist dentists.
- We are on the margin in the planning, so we, as a working person, would have wanted a larger volume in the business, says Rune Lindsten, head of dental regulation in Jönköping.
Would you hire more if there were more?
- Yes, we would. And there is great interest in becoming a specialist, but it is difficult to get general dentists to the regions outside the big cities as well. In general, it is difficult to get hold of people.
In Jönköping there is a specialist training for dentists, but it is difficult to get them to stay in the area when they are fully trained.
But there are regions that have even greater problems with long waiting times for tooth regulation. In Kronoberg County, for example, the waiting time is almost twice as long, up to four years.
And although Rune Lindsten wants to see shorter waiting times in Jönköping County, he thinks two years is an acceptable time to wait.
- Tooth control itself is not a priority compared to other medical conditions.
But could waiting times be shorter here?
- Absolutely, and we really wish that. We would like to have a queue of six months or so.