Preventive healthcare services for children and adolescents

Preventive healthcare for children and adolescents are set in place in order to ensure healthy growth and create good conditions for a healthy adult life. All children in Denmark are offered regular free healthcare services by their family doctor (GP, general practitioner).

Children between 0 and 5 years old are entitled to 7 free preventive health examinations by a family doctor (GP). 3 of these examinations are within the child’s first year.

You need to contact your child’s GP yourself to make an appointment for these examinations.

• Find a healthcare provider at sundhed.dk (in Danish)

• Provide information and guidance about health and prevention of illness for children within their environment at home, nurseries, day-care centres, and schools.
• Keeps an eye on each individual child’s physical health and well-being.

When you have had a child, the health visitor will contact you to arrange a visit.

The health visitor provides guidance on, amongst other things, breast feeding, diet, cooking, child care and development, everyday life, and parental roles and responsibility.

The health visitor can help you get in contact with other parents and set up mothers’ and fathers’ groups.

All schoolchildren must be offered 2 preventative health examinations by a municipal doctor or health visitor:

• the first health examination must be offered during the 1st year of school.
• the second health examination must be offered before the child graduates secondary school.

In addition, regular contact during school time is offered in order to detect any general or individual health problems.

• Law on health (in Danish)
• Regulation on dental care (in Danish)

• Law on health (in Danish)
• Regulation on dental care (in Danish)