SNS 24

Dental Checks

( Updated at 06/10/2023 )

7 minutes of reading

What Are Dental Checks?

The dentist's checks are guides that give access to a range of dental care. It covers several areas such as prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Who is covered?

The populations covered by dental vouchers are:

pregnant women followed in the NHS
beneficiaries of the Solidarity Supplement
children and young people up to the age of 18, regardless of the school or institution they attend
patients with HIV/AIDS
patients with a lesion suspected of oral cancer

Young people aged 4, 7, 10 and 13 can access the oral hygiene consultation.

In addition, the National Program for the Promotion of Oral Health (PNPSO) allows the provision of medical and dental care to key and especially vulnerable groups and users of the National Health Service (SNS).

What are the different paediatric ages for the dentist's cheque?

The ages are divided into:

2 to 6 years
7 to 9 years old
10 to 12 years old
13 to 14 years
16 to 18 years old

The 15-year-old consultation can be inserted in the age group of 13 to 14 or 16 to 18 years old. For more information, see the content Dentist check for children.

How to access?

You should make an appointment with your GP if you are on the list of eligible patients.

With regard to children, the appointment should be scheduled only for children under the age of 6 years, inclusive. For the remaining ages, access is decided in a school environment.

When can I order my dentist's check?

You can request the dentist's check from your GP at any time, as long as you meet the necessary requirements.

Where can I check my dental checks?

You can check dental vouchers through the personal area of the SNS 24 portal, accessing the 'My records' section, clicking on the 'Bulletins' item and selecting the 'Oral health bulletin' tab.

Where can I make an appointment for my dentist's check?

You can use the dentist's voucher anywhere in the country, at a doctor adhering to the National Program for the Promotion of Oral Health, available through a national list.

What documents and requirements do I need?

All you need is the duly signed dentist's check and your identification.

How much does it cost?

It is free of charge.

What is the validity of the dentist's check?

The validity of the dentist's voucher varies depending on the project in which it is inserted, and is generally valid for 12 months after its issuance.

For the Pregnant Women's Oral Health Project, the validity goes up to 60 days after the date of delivery. For school-age children, the validity follows the school year, starting in November and ending in August of the following year, and for children aged 6 and under, this validity lasts only 3 months.

Dentist checks, for patients with a lesion suspected of oral cancer, are valid for 2 months.

My dentist's check has expired. What can I do?

After it expires, you will not be able to use it.

Why do I have to go to the family doctor first?

The first dental voucher must be issued by your GP or treating doctor, so that all the clinical information available in your medical record is made available to the dentist.

Children aged 7, 10 and 13 – who have access to this cheque at school – and children aged 16 and 18, whose cheque is issued by the administrative assistant of the health centre, are excluded from this procedure.

How many dental checks am I entitled to?

Pregnant women: maximum of 3 dental checks per pregnancy, to be used up to 60 days after the expected date of delivery or the effective date of delivery
beneficiaries of the Solidarity Supplement: up to 2 dental vouchers per year, to be used within a period of 12 months
patients with HIV/AIDS: up to 6 dental checks on the first access and 24 months after the issuance of the previous referral you have access to up to 2 checks
Children and young people:
- child aged 2, 3, 5 and 6 years – 1 dental check, as long as they have cavities in primary teeth
- 4-year-old child – up to 2 dental checks
- Children aged 7 and 10 years – have access to up to 2 dental checks. At the age of 13, young people can have access to up to 3 dental vouchers
- Child or young person aged 8, 9, 11, 12 and 14 years old – 1 cheque under the following conditions:
  - to 8- and 9-year-old children who completed the treatment plan at age 7
  - to 11- and 12-year-olds who completed the treatment plan and to 10-year-olds
  - to 14-year-olds who completed the treatment plan at age 13
- 16-year-olds – to a dentist's check, if they completed the treatment plan at the age of 13
- 18-year-olds – to a dentist's check, if they completed the treatment plan at the age of 16

About children's dentist checks, see more information in the content Children's dentist check

What treatments am I entitled to?

Preventive treatments
Restorations
Devitalizations
Extractions
Scaling
Root planing

How many treatments am I entitled to?

According to the clinical diagnosis:

Pregnant women: up to 5 treatments per cycle of checks, and the pregnant woman has access to up to three cycles, corresponding to three checks
HIV/AIDS patients: up to 11 treatments in a first cycle, which become 9 treatments if the treatment plan includes devitalisations. At the end of the 3rd check, it is mandatory for the family doctor to confirm the existence of the continued need for treatment. In the following cycles (as necessary, every two years) you are entitled to 3 treated teeth
beneficiaries of the Solidarity Supplement: up to 3 treatments, per cycle of two checks

Can I choose a stomatologist/dentist?

yes. Beneficiary users have the freedom to choose the provider among the participating health professionals. You can consult the national list or get more information from the functional units of the health center clusters.

Can I change my stomatologist/dentist?

yes. At your health centre you can request a change of doctor, and you will be given a cheque, as long as the cycle provides for more than one and you still have cheques to be used. With the new cheque issued after the change of doctor, you choose again from the public list the doctor you want to go to.

Do I have to pay anything when using a dental check?

No. Treatments carried out under the dentist's voucher are free of charge for the user.

I lost my dentist's check. What can I do?

You can ask your health centre to have it reprinted or request the cheque through this email

My GP gave me a dentist's check, but I don't want to go now. Can I refuse?

You can use the dentist's voucher within the period of its validity. The deadline for the use of any cheques to which you may be entitled is indicated on the paper form.

And if after a while I want to go, can my doctor refer me again?

After referral by the family doctor and the validity of use of the vouchers has expired, the dentist may be referred again, depending on the eligibility requirements by which he is covered.

Pregnant women regain access in the next pregnancy, older people in the following calendar year, and people living with HIV two years later.

For users of the National Health Service, this referral may occur whenever the family doctor deems it necessary.

I am a member of the Board. What do I do when I have clients who come to the appointment without their dental check?

You should start using the dentist's voucher and request it through email.

My son attends a public school and I have not been given a dental check. What should I do?

You should go to the health centre in your child's school area and ask for the dentist's voucher to be issued.

My son attends a private school. Are you entitled to a dentist's check?

yes. As of May 25, 2021, the National Program for the Promotion of Oral Health, which runs until 2025, is also extended to all children and young people between the ages of seven and 18, regardless of the school or institution they attend, including the private sector.

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