Norway dental health policy developments

In September 2026, the Conservative Party (Høyre) proposed introducing penalty fees for patients who miss subsidized dental appointments. Health policy spokesperson Erlend Svardal Bøe argued that missed appointments waste public resources, noting that nearly 7,000 people missed public dental appointments the previous year. The proposal specifically aimed to target healthy young adults to protect capacity for vulnerable groups.

By October 2026, the Norwegian government introduced a broader dental health reform. This plan aims to ensure the entire population has access to necessary dental treatment by capping patient costs at a maximum of 25 percent, including orthodontic care.

The reform includes a proposal to shift long-term responsibility for orthodontics to the counties. This has met opposition from the Norwegian Association of Orthodontists (NKF), which warns that the government may have underestimated costs. The NKF suggests that moving responsibility to counties could reduce the number of children receiving treatment compared to the current system of national insurance subsidies.