What the NFZ covers at the dentist in 2026: the list for adults, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities

Is the NFZ dentist free, and do you need a referral?

Treatment at an NFZ dentist is free for the patient, but only within the list of guaranteed services and only at a practice that has a contract with the Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (NFZ, Poland’s National Health Fund). No referral is needed, because the act on publicly funded healthcare services expressly exempts dental visits from it (Article 57(2)(2)).

The scope is set by the Minister of Health’s regulation of 6 November 2013 on guaranteed dental services (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 615). The latest amendment came into force on 3 January 2025, and its part on general anaesthesia has applied since 1 January 2026. The law described in this article is stated as at 12 October 2026.

Entitlement to these services belongs to insured people and, regardless of insurance, among others to children under 18 with Polish citizenship and to women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period who have Polish citizenship and live in Poland (Article 2 of the act). The practice provides free of charge the diagnostic tests, medicines and medical devices needed to deliver the service (§ 9 of the regulation).

There are fewer practices with a contract than many patients assume: according to an audit by NIK (Poland’s Supreme Audit Office), 34.6% of about 40,600 dentists were working under an NFZ contract in 2022. Practices with a contract in Białystok and in every other city are shown by the NFZ search tool “Gdzie się leczyć” (Where to get treatment) under dental treatment, together with the forecast waiting time.

What the NFZ covers at the dentist: an overview by patient group

At the dentist, the NFZ covers the same basic set of services for everyone entitled, and adds services beyond that set for children, women who are pregnant or postpartum, and people with disabilities. The most important differences concern root canal treatment, filling materials and how often hygiene treatment is available.

The table summarises the list in the regulation and does not replace it: some services come with extra conditions, for example medical indications or required qualifications of the dentist. The details for each group are described in the following sections.

What are adults entitled to at an NFZ dentist?

An adult patient gets an examination, caries treatment, limited root canal treatment, extractions, scaling and acrylic dentures on the NFZ, together with any local anaesthesia needed. The limits on frequency come from Annex 1 to the regulation.

The NFZ does not fund implants, crowns, bridges, cast metal (skeletal) dentures, whitening or root canal treatment of premolars and molars in adults, because these services are not on the list. Such treatment is paid for privately.

• A dental examination with oral hygiene instruction once per calendar year, plus 3 check-up examinations a year.
• Local anaesthesia (topical, infiltration and intraoral nerve block), given together with other services.
• Up to 2 intraoral X-rays a year and a panoramic X-ray once every 5 years, for root canal treatment or before prosthetic treatment, on a referral with a justification.
• Caries treatment: fillings on 1, 2 or 3 surfaces, and treatment of superficial and early caries.
• Root canal treatment of incisors and canines, without rebuilding the crown of the tooth afterwards.
• Removal of tartar (scaling) once a year for the whole dentition, irrigation of gum pockets, closed curettage and treatment of lesions on the oral mucosa.
• Extraction of single and multi-rooted teeth, including surgical extraction, incision of an abscess with drainage and closing a small wound with a stitch.
• Acrylic partial dentures (for 5 to 8 or more than 8 missing teeth in an arch) and complete dentures once every 5 years, with repair with an impression and relining once every 2 years.

NFZ fillings: are they white, and can they be light-cured?

An NFZ filling for an adult is made of glass ionomer cement, and in front teeth, from canine to canine in the upper and lower arch, also of chemically cured composite. Light-cured composite, a filling hardened with a lamp, is not part of the adult scope, except for people with a moderate or severe disability where medical indications call for it.

Children and young people under 18 also get light-cured composite in incisors and canines, as well as fissure sealants and varnishes. Amalgam is not on the list of materials, and EU Regulation 2024/1849 has banned its use in dentistry since 1 January 2025, unless the dentist considers it strictly necessary because of the patient’s specific medical needs. Removing an old amalgam filling while treating a tooth is a listed service.

In 2025 the Ministry of Health prepared a draft that would replace the materials named in the regulation with a general term, materials for permanent fillings. As at 12 October 2026 this draft has not come into force, so adults without a disability certificate still do not get light-cured composite on the NFZ.

Root canal treatment on the NFZ: which teeth does it cover?

In adults, root canal treatment on the NFZ covers only incisors and canines, that is teeth 1 to 3 in each quarter of the arch, and premolars and molars are excluded. Children and young people under 18 and women who are pregnant or postpartum get root canal treatment on all teeth.

The service includes removing the pulp and shaping and filling the canals, but not rebuilding the crown of the tooth after treatment. The list does not require work under a microscope. Since 2025, children and young people with an immature root have been entitled to treatment with an MTA-type material, carried out by a specialist in paediatric dentistry or in conservative dentistry with endodontics, or by a dentist training in that specialty.

An adult with a painful molar will get help on the NFZ on the day they come in, including an extraction, but root canal treatment of that tooth is not funded. What makes up the cost of such treatment privately is described in the article on root canal treatment prices.

What are children and young people under 18 entitled to?

Children and young people under 18 have a wider scope on the NFZ than adults: root canal treatment on all teeth, light-cured fillings in incisors and canines, prevention and treatment with a removable appliance. The prevention programme in Annex 10 covers children and young people right up to their 19th birthday.

• Fissure sealing of the first permanent molars once before the 8th birthday, and of the second molars once before the 14th birthday.
• Fluoride varnish on all milk and permanent teeth, no more often than once a quarter.
• Treatment of milk teeth, including dentine impregnation and pulp amputation, and in permanent teeth rebuilding a fractured incisal corner and covering enamel hypoplasia.
• Up to 5 intraoral X-rays a year, and from age 5 to 18 a panoramic X-ray once every 3 years where medically justified.
• An examination after a dental injury and up to 3 check-ups within 6 months of the injury.
• An adaptation visit for children up to 6, not combined with other treatment.
• Preventive visits at 6, 9 and 12 months of age and in the second year of life, with hygiene instruction for the parent and fluoride prevention, also provided in dental buses and school surgeries.
• Orthodontics with a removable appliance up to the 12th birthday and check-ups during retention up to the 13th birthday, excluding fixed braces.

What extra applies in pregnancy, after childbirth and with a disability?

A woman who is pregnant or postpartum gets on the NFZ, in addition to the adult scope, root canal treatment on all teeth, scaling of the whole dentition no more often than every 6 months and a check-up examination no more often than once a quarter. Entitlement is confirmed by the pregnancy record card (karta przebiegu ciąży, § 5 of the regulation). The regulation does not define how long the postpartum period lasts.

People with disabilities get light-cured composite and treatment under general anaesthesia where medical indications call for it. This applies to children under 16 with a disability, young people aged 16 to 18 with a moderate or severe disability and adults with the same degrees (§ 4(1) and (2)). In practice entitlement is confirmed by a certificate: under 16 a disability certificate (orzeczenie o niepełnosprawności), from 16 a certificate of the degree of disability (orzeczenie o stopniu niepełnosprawności).

Since 1 January 2026 general anaesthesia has also been available to children and young people under 18 in five specified situations that do not depend on a certificate, for example an allergy to local anaesthetics or the need for immediate treatment of acute inflammation of dental origin (§ 4(1a)). In the Podlaskie province such treatment is provided under 5 NFZ contracts, and the average waiting time for stable cases in 2025 was 38 days.

What to do with toothache on the NFZ, including at night and at weekends?

A patient who comes with pain to a practice with an NFZ contract receives help on the same day: § 6 of the regulation states that a patient presenting with pain is given guaranteed services on the day they present. Outside practice hours there is the emergency dental service.

The NFZ emergency dental service is available on working days from 19:00 to 7:00 the next day, and round the clock at weekends and on public holidays. The nearest point is shown on the map at pacjent.gov.pl and by the free NFZ patient helpline (Telefoniczna Informacja Pacjenta) on 800 190 590.

Under emergency care you can receive, among other things, anaesthesia, a dressing, an extraction, incision of an abscess with drainage and repositioning of a dislocated tooth. The limit of adult root canal treatment to incisors and canines also applies in this setting.

Swelling of the face or neck that makes breathing, speaking or swallowing difficult needs help at the hospital emergency department (SOR) or via 112, the emergency number, not a visit to a dental practice. The warning signs with toothache and an abscess are described in a separate article.

How it works at DentalBlue

DentalBlue (Dentalblue Wawrzyn) at ul. Kazimierza Pułaskiego 35 in Białystok treats patients privately and, as a healthcare provider, also delivers services funded by the NFZ: treatment under general anaesthesia for entitled patients. Entitlement is confirmed at qualification, on the basis of the patient’s documents. Every treatment under general anaesthesia starts with a joint dental and anaesthesiology consultation, and the date of the procedure is set only after it. The clinic is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays from 8:00 to 16:00; reception: 85 748 00 50.