[Utilisation of dental check-ups in Germany-prevalence and trends based on routine statutory health insurance data]

Dental check-ups contribute significantly to reducing the burden of oral disease. This article examines for the first time in Germany the utilisation of dental check-ups by adults aged 20 years and older based on routine data.

The analyses were based on the outpatient dental claims data in accordance with BEMA (Uniform Assessment Scale for Dental Services) of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Dentists. A dental check-up was assumed to have been performed if at least one billing of BEMA 01, 151, 152, 153, 154 or 155 was documented in a calendar year. The utilisation was estimated as a proportion of all persons with statutory health insurance according to the KM6 statistics for the years 2015 to 2024, stratified by sex, age and region in a cross-sectional study design.

The rate of utilisation of dental check-ups remained relatively constant at around 64% until 2019, with a decline in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (62.1%) and a gradual increase in the subsequent years to the initial level in 2024. Compared to the overall rate, men, young and early middle-aged adults, the very old and people in western Germany had a lower utilisation rate. Over time, the east-west differences in the utilisation rate in Germany have decreased.

More than one in three persons did not have a dental check-up in 2024. The results therefore highlight the need for preventive measures. For Germany, there had previously been no analyses of the utilisation of dental check-ups based on routine data. This article therefore fills a research gap.