Overview

• Fewer than half of AOK‑insured children aged 0 to 6 saw a dentist in 2024, including 44% in Berlin, 42% in Brandenburg and 46% in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern.
• Use of crowns increased notably: in Berlin about one in five treated children under six received a crown, and in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern it was roughly 16%, reflecting 18% to 19% year‑on‑year growth.
• Crowns are most often placed between ages three and five when decay is advanced, after dental trauma, or with enamel defects such as so‑called Kreidezähne.
• AOK describes the shift as tooth‑preserving progress compared with earlier extractions, yet many children first present with treatment‑needing teeth.
• Caries treatment remained common among six‑year‑olds in 2024—29% in Berlin and about 20% in Brandenburg—despite modest five‑year improvements, prompting calls to use six free early dental checkups and to introduce mandatory toothbrushing in all day‑care centers.