Perception of lack of need to go to the dentist is the main reason. More than a fifth mention economic reasons, but seven in 10 do not know that the NHS provides dental consultations.
Six out of ten Portuguese people do not have complete teeth, revealed this Monday the Oral Health Barometer 2025 of the Order of Dentists (OMD), which highlights “significant inequalities” in prevention and access to oral health care.
More than half of Portuguese people (64,6%) is missing teeth according to OMD data, based on a survey carried out among 1,200 people in mainland Portugal and in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.
The study shows that 26% of respondents only resort to emergency consultations and 2.5% have never consulted a dentist.
The main reason given for avoiding regular care is the perceived lack of needcited by 53.8%, while 22.2% mention economic reasons.
“The presence of the public sector in the provision of oral health care continues to be residual”, laments the OMD, warning of the need to reinforce oral health literacy, in coordination between the National Health Service (SNS), local authorities and schools.
Only 6% of Portuguese people had their last consultation on the SNS and 70.3% are unaware that the SNS offers dental consultations.
“These data show that oral health is still perceived as an optional good and not as an integral part of general health. Portugal has evolved, but there continues to be a invisible border between those who can and those who cannot take care of their oral health”, says the president of OMD, Miguel Pavão, cited in a statement.
The OMD also highlights a report on the program “Check-Dentist 2025”, considered essential for inclusion, but “still underused compared to its potential”. In 2024, 764 thousand checks were issued, of which only 62.5% were used, a value below the historical average of use, which, between 2008 and 2024, was 67.5%.
“It is time to modernize the system so that it reaches those who need it most”, says the president.
The OMD considers it urgent to carry out a structural review of the program, in order to guarantee its sustainability and social relevance, through digitalization and the creation of the Digital Oral Health Bulletin, to improve access and integrate this care into the health system.
In September 2025, there were 5,845 dentists participating in the program, mainly concentrated in the districts of Porto, Braga and Aveiro, which represent almost half of the total. In autonomous regions, the usage rate is lower, revealing territorial inequalities and difficulties in accessing oral health care.
