National Dental Health Register
Purpose of the Register
The purpose of the National Dental Health Register is to monitor the development of dental care and dental health over time in Sweden. The data are used for statistics and research, but also for the development of quality indicators, monitoring and evaluation.
Data in the National Dental Health Register can be used to answer such questions as:
- What is the link between oral health and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases?
- How does medication or a dry mouth affect tooth decay?
- Are there regional, socio-economic and demographic differences in dental health?
- How does dentistry evolve over time?
Contents of the National Dental Health Register
The National Dental Health Register contains all conditions and procedures submitted to and approved by the Social Insurance Agency within the framework of the government dental care support programme and two of the subsidies for dental care at health care fees. This includes dental care for people with certain long-term illnesses and disabilities as well as essential dental care. The National Dental Health Register is based on personal ID numbers, which makes it possible to cross-reference the data in the Register with other health data registers.
The National Dental Health Register does not cover dental care provided free of charge to children and young people aged 0–23, jaw surgery or dental care as part of short-term disease treatment.
The codes used in the National Dental Health Register for procedures and conditions are the codes specified in the Swedish Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency's regulation: The Swedish Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency's regulations and general advice on government dental care support.
For the full list of all variables, see the list of variables
For information about the quality of the Register, such as missing data, variable content and history, see Production and quality of the Dental Health Register (in Swedish).
Legal regulation of the Register
The National Dental Health Register is a health data register that is regulated by the Health Data Register Act (1998:543) and associated regulation (2008:194). These also regulate what information may be included in the registers and the obligation of healthcare providers to provide information to the registers. The National Board of Health and Welfare`s regulations (SOSFS 2008:13), shows in more detail how the healthcare provider´s obligation must be fulfilled.
Reporting to the National Dental Health Register
Dentists and dental hygienists report data to the Social Insurance Agency, which forwards the data to the National Board of Health and Welfare. From Statistics Sweden, data is obtained regarding place of residence, country of birth, citizenship and marital status.
Statistics based on the Register
Extract statistics from the database.
If you are interested in National Dental Health Register data, see Ordering data and statistics (only available in Swedish).
For more information se also Article: The Swedish dental health register - validation study of remaining and intact teeth
Related sources
- Swedish Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) on dental care
- Social Insurance Agency on dental care