An evaluation of oral and dental health services in Turkey and in the member states of the EU in terms of economy

Abstract

Dental health expenditures are a big part of general health expenditures. In Turkey, oral health services are provided by both private practitioners and government sections. In 2012, approximately 7 million fillings were made by government clinics. According to Turkish Dental Association data, in the same year, the number of fillings that Turkish citizens needed was 247 million. Even if the entire budget of the Health Ministry of Turkey were spent for these fillings, it is impossible to handle this demand. In 2012, in the European Union with 24 member countries, dental health spending was close to 74 billion Euro. Because of this financial burden, Turkey and the other countries are trying to find cost-effective methods to minimize dental health spending. This chapter emphasizes dental health conditions of both Turkey and European Union, firstly, and then successful and cost-effective strategies are discussed. © 2015, IGI Global. All rights reserved.