This indicator provides information on access to dental care, the costs of which generally have to be borne by patients. It reveals the percentage of people who state that they have had to forego treatment for financial reasons.
From an integration perspective, a decrease in the percentage of people who say they have had to forego dental care for financial reasons indicates an improved situation.
People with a migration background are more likely to forego dental care for financial reasons than people without such a background.
Since 2015, the percentage of people who have had to forego dental care for financial reasons has significantly decreased in the second or subsequent generation.
In the Lake Geneva region, in Zurich and Eastern Switzerland, people with a migration background are significantly more likely to have gone without dental care than those without such a background.
At the request of Eurostat, the questions regarding lack of access to healthcare were revised in 2015. The main change is that people are now questioned about the necessity of dental care prior to being asked if they have always been able to access the necessary examinations or treatment. This means that from 2015, only people who said they really needed an examination or treatment and who did not have access to such care were asked for the main reason for not seeking it. When the main reason is financial, the person is considered to have a lack of access to healthcare.
