title: The healthcare system and the provision of oral healthcare in European Union member states: Part 5: Romania.
abstract: Romania is one of the newest member states of the European Union (EU). It has 13 dental schools, 14,841 dentists and 2,935 dental technicians providing oral health care for a population, at 31 December 2014, of 21.3 million. The shift from a communist system to a democratic or capitalist society has contributed to an enormous change in the proportion of public and private sector oral health services. The lack of public funds during the post-communist years has contributed to a dependency on private oral healthcare rather than the government financed public provision. Affordability and social awareness have together established a mixed economy for oral health care costs and oral healthcare is growing slowly compared with other developed EU member states. At the same time, there has been overproduction of new dentists (currently 1500 graduate annually). This has led to un and under-employment and emigration of dentists to other EU member states. This paper explains the current oral healthcare system in Romania and changes in recent years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara 300,173, Romania.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oancea
authors.affiliation: Romanian Association of Dental Public Health, Constanta 900,720, Romania.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Amariei
authors.affiliation: University College London Eastman Dental Institute, Universities of Brescia and Leeds, Honorary Professor, University of Kent, TN25 4EW, United Kingdom.|Old Saddlers, Canterbury Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4EW, UK.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland, Professor in Dental Public Health, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Arctic University of Norway, PO Box 30.00271, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Widström
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003800:Dental Technicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005062:European Union / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000191:economics; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011057:Politics; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D012575:Schools, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology