Finland might consider itself a model country when it comes to health, but when the country's dental data are compared to other countries, there is plenty of room for improvement. Yle examined several studies that show how Finns compare to their European counterparts.
A 2016 World Health Organisation study "Growing up unequal: Health behavior in school-aged children" reveals that 53 percent of men over the age of 30 in Finland brush their teeth twice a day, while 80 percent of Finnish women over 30 do the same.
The percentages grow worse for younger people. Just 45 percent of 15-year-old boys brush their teeth twice a day as recommended, and 74 percent of 15-year-old girls do the same.
Among same-aged youth in Switzerland, for example, the equivalent numbers are 79 and 91 percent, with 75 and 87 percent figures recorded in England, 74 and 88 in Sweden, 73 and 96 in Germany, and 62 and 82 in Norway.
"It is really surprising. Pisa tests suggest that our young people are brighter than average, and yet they still don't brush their teeth as well as kids in other parts of western Europe," says Liisa Suominen, aprofessor of oral health at the University of Eastern Finland.
Among men in particular, poor oral habits seem to follow them into adulthood. Statistics show that every second 20-year-old male in Finland has at least one cavity.
One in three fears dentist visits
Another study shows that every third adult in Finland is frightened of visiting the dentist, with more women than men indicating their fears. Women nevertheless tend to take better care of their teeth across all age groups.
Dental health experts say gingivitis, an inflammation of the gums, can set in after not brushing your teeth for just a few days. Dental plaque, or biofilms on teeth, can cause tooth decay and gum disease, but they are also a breeding ground for a multitude of bacteria that can cause other illnesses.
Extensive infections can continue undetected in people's mouths for long periods, leading to periodontitis, the condition when the gums start to pull away from the bone.
The studies examined by Yle show that 60 percent of the Finnish population has periodontitis at one point or another, compared with 40 percent of the population in Sweden, and 50 percent in Norway.
Periodontitis has been linked in several studies to increased inflammation in the body, which in turn has been associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart attacks. In people over 60, it has also been linked to delayed memory and calculation abilities. People with diabetes also suffer complications from the constant systemic inflammatory state caused by the infection.
Customers say high fees and long queues also keep them away
The National Institute for Health and Welfare's FinnTerveys 2017 study reports that almost 20 percent of adults in Finland say that customer fees associated with dental fees are so high that it has kept them from visiting the dentist for the last year. THL says the number citing problems with the fees has grown by hundreds of thousands since the start of the decade.
Prices for checkups with dentists or oral hygienists have risen steadily in Finland over the last few years. At the same time, reimbursement levels from the state benefits agency Kela have been cut by half in some cases.
The average fee for a cavity to be filled at a municipal dentist office in Finland is 50 euros, but fees at private clinics are higher.
Dental care customers also complain of long waiting times for appointments at many locations in Finland's network of health care centres. Although the length of the queues varies considerably depending on location, one in every five adults in Finland reports that the delays play a role in their reluctance to seek dental treatment.