School dentist: pupils’ dental care, parental consent, mobile dental clinics and fissure sealing

Who treats pupils’ teeth, and where? School dentists under the Act

Pupils’ dental care is provided by a dentist contracted by the NFZ, in a school surgery, an external practice or a mobile dental clinic. This is set out in the Act of 12 April 2019 on Healthcare for Pupils (Dz.U. 2019 poz. 1078), in force since 12 September 2019; legal status as of 24 October 2026.

The Act includes dental care within pupils’ healthcare, alongside prevention provided by the school nurse and health education. A dental hygienist may also take part in health education, and the dentist works with the school nurse and headteacher to prevent tooth decay.

The body running the school, usually the municipality or district, must ensure access to a dental surgery. If there is no surgery at the school, it makes an agreement with an NFZ-contracted practice treating children, specifying how pupils will use its services.

What does a school dentist do, and what is outside their remit?

A school dentist provides general dental services for children until their 18th birthday and preventive services until their 19th birthday, excluding orthodontics. The scope is set by the Minister of Health’s regulation on guaranteed dental services (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 615), with separate lists for school surgeries and mobile dental clinics.

Preventive check-ups during school years are scheduled in the 7th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 19th years of life. They include assessment of the teeth, and at older ages the gums, screening for malocclusion using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), and professional fluoride prevention in most of those years.

General dental services in school surgeries include examinations, decay treatment, root canal treatment, extractions, intraoral X-rays, local anaesthesia, fissure sealing and fluoride varnish. School dentists do not fit orthodontic appliances, as orthodontics is excluded from their remit.

Parental consent and objections: how does this work with a school dentist?

A school dentist needs a parent’s written consent before treating a pupil’s teeth, while preventive care takes place unless the parent submits a written objection. This is set out in art. 7 of the Act on Healthcare for Pupils, which also applies to adult pupils, who decide for themselves.

Parents are told about the scope of care and their right to object at the first meeting of the school year, and the school displays this information in a publicly accessible place. A written objection goes to the practice providing care, rather than to the school.

When treating a pupil who is 16 or older but not yet an adult, the pupil’s own consent is also required, alongside that of their legal representative. If such a pupil objects to a service despite the representative’s consent, it can only be provided with the permission of a guardianship court (art. 17 of the Act on Patients’ Rights, consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 poz. 581). The Act on Healthcare for Pupils requires dentists to maintain confidentiality and respect pupils’ privacy and dignity.

Parents do not have to use the school dentist. Art. 6 of the Act gives parents and adult pupils the right to choose another dentist, such as the one who has treated the child for years.

What is a dental bus, and who can use it?

A dental bus is a mobile dental surgery for children and young people, providing services free of charge. According to pacjent.gov.pl, these clinics mainly reach smaller towns and villages without permanent surgeries, and schools and nurseries coordinate access themselves.

In its response to a parliamentary question in July 2025, the Ministry of Health explained that dental bus treatment is available only to children and young people until their 18th birthday, and preventive services until their 19th birthday. A person who has turned 18 but not yet 19 can still receive preventive services. A disability does not extend these age limits.

In a dental bus, the dentist assesses oral health, draws up a treatment plan, provides treatment and advises on preventing decay. Stop schedules, with a separate section for Podlaskie province, are published on the “Leczenie w dentobusie” page of pacjent.gov.pl, whose content is the responsibility of the NFZ.

School dentists in Białystok and Podlasie: how can you check who provides pupils’ care?

The simplest approach is to ask the school: parents should receive this information at the first meeting, and the headteacher or school nurse knows which practice has an agreement with the school. No public list matching Białystok schools to particular practices could be found, so none is given here.

In the NFZ contract directory (Informator o umowach; as of 24 October 2026, counting only contracted services valid on that date), 33 providers in Podlaskie province have dental services for pupils, including 10 based in Białystok. Five providers have services in a school surgery, and one holds a contract that includes a dental bus. In total, 184 providers have dental treatment services under contract on that date. These are numbers of providers, not of surgeries or schools; a provider’s registered seat does not determine where a pupil is treated.

You can check these figures in the Informator o umowach contract search on the NFZ website by selecting Podlaskie province and dental treatment. Contracts change during the year, so the school should always confirm the current practice responsible for its pupils.

Fissure sealing and fluoride at school: what is your child entitled to?

Fissure sealing, which seals grooves in molars, is also available through the NFZ at the school dentist, but as a treatment service it requires written parental consent. Under the dental regulation, first permanent molars are sealed once before the 8th birthday and second permanent molars once before the 14th birthday.

Children are entitled to fluoride varnish no more than once per quarter, and professional fluoride prevention also forms part of preventive school-age check-ups. A separate article explains fissure sealing and how long sealants last.

Group fluoride prevention provided by a school nurse or school hygienist is a separate activity. The regulation on guaranteed primary healthcare services (consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1427) provides for supervised brushing with fluoride products in primary school years I to VI, 6 times a year at 6-week intervals, where drinking water contains no more than 1 mg/l fluoride.

When is it better to take a child to a dentist outside school?

School dentists provide prevention and basic treatment, but some situations call for another practice. These mainly involve matters outside school dental care or requiring different equipment.

• Toothache or facial swelling after lessons, at weekends or during school holidays.
• A need for orthodontic treatment, which is outside the school dentist’s remit.
• A dental injury outside the school surgery’s opening hours, such as a knocked-out or broken tooth, when time matters.
• A child unable to cooperate in the dental chair, including because of a disability.
• A parent choosing treatment with the family dentist, as permitted by art. 6 of the Act.

Children’s dental treatment at DentalBlue and school dentistry

DentalBlue in Białystok provides paediatric dentistry, and children unable to cooperate in the chair may be treated under general anaesthesia after a combined dental and anaesthesiology consultation. NFZ funding at the clinic covers treatment under general anaesthesia; eligibility is confirmed during assessment using the patient’s documents. In the price list, “Lakowanie 1 ząb” (fissure sealing, one tooth) costs 220 zł and “Wizyta Adaptacyjna” (familiarisation visit) 250 zł. The final scope and cost are agreed at the visit, and prices may change.