The healthcare system and the provision of oral healthcare in European Union Member States. Part 6: Poland

Key Points Provides an understanding of the health and oral healthcare system in Poland. Provides an appreciation of how Polish dentists currently working in the UK were trained and practise in their own country. Identifies challenges to improving oral health in Poland. Poland is one of the largest European countries in terms of area and population. The country's economic situation does not allow for the allocation of sufficient public funds for healthcare in general and oral healthcare in particular. The health policy of the state focuses primarily on prophylaxis and treatment of diseases, directly threatening the health and lives of the inhabitants. Currently, expenditure on oral health accounts for only 2.7% of the public funds allocated to healthcare. In this context, providing oral care financed from public funds at an appropriate level constitutes a challenge for state institutions, centres providing medical and dental services and private practices. Despite difficult financial conditions in Poland, therapeutic and prophylactic programmes are implemented, aimed at improving the oral health of the society, especially children and adolescents, pregnant women and patients with disabilities or developmental disorders such as cleft palate. In Poland, apart from the oral care system financed by the state, there is also an extremely well developed system of private practices and clinics providing clinical services on a commercial basis. In 2014, oral services, financed by the state, were utilised by about 30% of the population of children and youths aged 0–18 years (2,212,792 patients) and about 15% of the adult population (5,026,383 patients). Training of Polish dentists is conducted in ten state-owned universities, from which 700 graduate each year. Dentists work mainly in private practices or medical centres, some of which provide services guaranteed by the public insurer – the National Health Fund. The other dentists find employment in state clinics, hospitals, and universities and their associated clinics. In Poland dentistry is a predominantly female profession and 75% of the just over 40,000 Polish dentists are female. Accession of Poland to the European Union meant that some Polish dentists have taken up employment abroad. It is estimated that the most common destination is the United Kingdom (UK), where 803 Polish dentists were registered, according to the General Dental Council in 2015.