In 2022, there were record-long queues for orthodontic treatment in Blekinge, with wait times of up to four years for a young person to even be called to an orthodontist, official sources said. Today, the queue is even longer, with the longest wait times for young people being over five years, and in Blekinge, the queue is more than two years longer than in the neighboring counties of Kronoberg and Kalmar, according to official sources. There are nearly 900 of Blekinge's young people in the queue for orthodontic treatment, regardless of prioritization order, official sources reported.
Not everyone is in the same long queue; it is an individual assessment which patients go first, with those who need it receiving treatment on time—those who otherwise risk permanent damage in the mouth, according to SVT Blekingenytt. In Karlskrona, they have long had difficulty replacing retirements within Folktandvården, official sources said. They have had to piece together by borrowing specialists, both from Karlshamn and Kalmar, and are also further training dentists who have worked in the county for several years, according to official sources.
They are working to train more specialists on site and borrowing from Karlshamn to cover the need gradually, according to SVT Blekingenytt. The possibility of a procurement with other regions is being investigated to offer patients free travel to other clinics, official sources said. In Region Skåne, the shortest wait time is 3 months and the longest is 27 months, depending on location and prioritization, Region Skåne reported.
In Region Kalmar, there is no wait time for young people with a great need for orthodontic treatment; treatment is managed according to need, and for patients where treatment start does not affect the final result, the wait time is between one and three years, Region Kalmar said. In Region Kronoberg, prioritized referrals are called within three months, lower priority within six or 18 months, and to be called from their non-prioritized waiting list currently takes about three years, Region Kronoberg reported.