A free annual dental check-up made available to children and young adults from 2025

Health Insurance recently announced the extension of its oral and dental prevention program for children and young adults, allowing them to benefit from a free dental check-up every year, from 2025. We take stock.

The oral health is essential at any age. Health Insurance offers a prevention program for young people aimed at “promote early contact with the dental surgeon, stomatologue or specialist in oral surgery and establish regular appointments at ages most exposed to caries risk”as indicated on their site. The existing system, known as “M’T Dents”, already offers a free check-up every three years to young people aged 3 to 24. With a new, higher frequency of visits, Health Insurance would like to raise lasting awareness of dental health among younger generations.

What is the M’T Dents oral prevention device, and how is it evolving?

Since 2006, Health Insurance has offered young people aged 3 to 24 a free oral and dental check-up every three years, as part of M’T Dents. Health Insurance now wants to make this check annual. “If we manage to do this every year until the age of 24, we will have achieved a turning point: that’s a whole generation whose dental capital will be preserved”, indicated Marguerite Cazeneuve, deputy director of Health Insurance, to AFP.

This monitoring makes it possible to detect dental problems early and provide appropriate care, an approach that Health Insurance intends to strengthen with the increase in the frequency of check-ups. During this consultation, the dentist examines the health of teeth and gums, offers dental hygiene advice, and can plan care if necessary.

Health Insurance covers 100% of the appointment, conservative care (such as treatment of caries and scaling), surgical and radiographic procedures, excluding orthodontic treatments. “These examinations are open to children and adolescents covered by Health Insurance, regardless of their nationality.”, it is specified. According to our colleagues at MondeHealth Insurance seeks to increase awareness among disadvantaged populations and plans to intensify its prevention actions in schools and improve communication with families far from dental care.

Parents of minors and young adults: how to benefit from a free dental check-up?

While waiting for new instructions to be presented by Health Insurance, existing directives indicate how to benefit from this free care from their platform, as a parent or young adult. According to Health Insurance, the procedure for benefiting from a free dental check-up varies depending on whether the person is a minor or a young adult. For minors (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 years old), one month before their birthday, parents receive an M’T Dents form by mail or on the Ameli.fr account. Following this, they must make an appointment with the dentist and present the Vitale card and the printed form if received on Ameli.fr, allowing full coverage for one year. After this period, the form is no longer valid. For young adults (18, 21 and 24 years old), the procedure is similar: one month before their birthday, they receive the form, then must make an appointment and present their Vitale card, and the form, to avoid any payment . The form can be downloaded from the Ameli.fr account, “My prevention space” section on the Health Insurance platform.

🦷French people under the age of 24 will soon be entitled to a free annual check-up at the dentist, Health Insurance announced on Thursday, and thus focuses its dental prevention measures on the youngest #AFP pic.twitter.com/ozBYyLynF7

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) November 7, 2024

Sources :

Oral prevention – Health Insurance website – February 26, 2024
Free oral exams and care for young people (M’T Dents) – Health Insurance website – August 21, 2024
Dental health: children and young adults will be entitled to a free annual check-up – Le Monde – November 7, 2024
Dental care: a free annual check-up for children and young adults from 2025 – Libération – November 7, 2024

Journalist for the Health, Love, Children and Slimming sections of FemmeActuelle.fr, I explore subjects essential to the well-being and daily life of our readers.