AZE.US
Dental treatment in Azerbaijan remains too expensive for many households, even as demand for broader access to care continues to grow.
The issue has drawn renewed attention as patients and specialists alike say even basic procedures are becoming harder to afford. While some limited dental services are covered under the country’s mandatory health insurance system, broader inclusion of treatment remains off the table for now.
Dentists say the price pressure is being driven largely by rising import costs. Azerbaijan does not manufacture dental materials locally, and clinics rely on supplies purchased abroad in foreign currency, making price increases difficult to avoid.
As a result, routine procedures already come with significant costs. According to specialists cited in the report, a filling for a back tooth now costs around 70 to 90 manats, while an aesthetic filling for a front tooth ranges from 100 to 140 manats. Endodontic treatment, including nerve removal and root canal filling, is priced at 80 to 160 manats per canal. Tooth extraction, depending on the case, ranges from 70 to 260 manats.
Specialists say patients in Azerbaijan usually go to the dentist for one of two reasons: urgent problems such as pain, bleeding or infection, or cosmetic procedures. In practice, that means many people delay treatment until the situation becomes severe.
Doctors argue that at least essential dental care should be brought into the mandatory insurance package. They point in particular to diagnostics, X-rays, tooth extraction, cavity treatment and root canal procedures as services that could significantly reduce the financial burden on patients if covered by the state.
For now, however, officials are signaling no major expansion in that direction.
The State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance said children already receive free oral health checkups, hygiene-related services and preventive consultations under the system. In addition, examinations by qualified dentists in state medical institutions are covered.
But the agency also made clear that a broader package of dental services is not currently being considered. Instead, the focus remains on expanding coverage in other areas of healthcare.
That leaves a major gap in access. For many patients, especially those facing urgent dental problems, treatment remains available mostly at market rates – and increasingly beyond what many families can comfortably pay.