Conscript dental appointments can take more than 10 weeks, watchdog finds

Conscripts at the Cyber Command’s Strategic Communications Centre have faced difficulties getting dental appointments, the Office of the Chancellor of Justice found during an inspection, ERR reported.

Officials visited the centre on August 11 to assess conscripts’ rights and service conditions. They toured the Filtri tee campus in Tallinn and spoke with service members and conscripts.

Conscripts are meant to be able to see a doctor and dentist, but arranging dental care has proved difficult. They must contact their unit’s dental clinic themselves by phone or ask their squad leader for help. Those in pain are advised to go to the unit’s medical centre.

If the dentist cannot answer a call, they return it as soon as possible. Conscripts may also be unable to answer at any time, meaning more than 10 weeks can pass between first contacting the dentist and getting an appointment, acting Chancellor of Justice Olari Koppel wrote. One conscript told inspectors that reaching a dentist had been difficult.

A patient registration system has been under development since September 2026 to make it easier for conscripts to contact the dentist and get appointments sooner. Until it is in place, the Office of the Chancellor of Justice asked the centre to ensure conscripts can receive dental care quickly enough when needed.

The inspection also found too few toilets in the conscripts’ barracks and no dedicated place for them to spend their free time. The gym inside the campus buildings is too small for everyone who wants to train, and there is no schedule for its use.