An American mom living in Denmark is making people wildly jealous of its free pediatric dentistry system that's located inside elementary schools

• Annie Samples, an American mom living in Copenhagen, went viral chronicling her son's dental visit.
• In Copenhagen, dentistry is free for kids, with offices located in elementary schools, she said.

An American mother of four living in Copenhagen has social media viewers on TikTok and X in awe of the Danish pediatric dentistry system after chronicling a free checkup for her six-year-old son.

Annie Samples, 37, known to her 268,000 TikTok followers as Annie In Eventyrland moved to Denmark for her husband's job four years ago with her family. While she first shared the video last October on TikTok, garnering a total of 5.9 million views, it's gone viral anew on X late last month.

Samples told Insider her father was a pediatric dentist and orthodontist in the US, and working in his office growing up gave her unique insight into the US system. She was compelled to share because the Danish system felt "so starkly different" from what she was used to.

In the video, Samples takes her son out of school and they walk half a mile to a different school, where a dental office is located in the basement. Her son scans his health card at a check-in station and waits to be called.

"Almost all pediatric healthcare after age five is handled through the school system," Samples says in the video. "Apparently, this is to ensure kids from all socioeconomic brackets get proper healthcare."

Children have dental appointments every 18 months, she added, though Samples told Insider if the slightest issue is spotted (like plaque buildup, which once happened for one of her kids) they can make appointments more often and additional testing may be conducted.

"Of course, we left without paying anything, and won't receive any bills in the mail," she concluded the video.

Commenters were envious and stunned

Samples told Insider the pediatric dentistry system in the US feels pricier and like more of a "commercial experience," in that American clinics often attempt to sell you on more services. In Denmark, it's more "bare-bones" and "standard-issue," she said, adding that her experience abroad has been "lovely."

For adults, however, dentistry is not free in Denmark and feels more akin to the American system. Social media viewers were nevertheless awed by her son's checkup.

"Why is this so hard for the US to implement," one TikTok viewer wrote under her original video. "It's brilliant!"

While the acclaim was nearly unanimous, other commenters noted that public subsidies come at a cost. "Oh you paid…through your taxes. I like this though," someone noted.

"I love paying my taxes here," Samples told Insider, adding it takes care of her kids and other kids and also furnishes free general healthcare, free college, parks and recreation programs, and beyond. "They're the best and most efficient way to care for your neighbor, and I'm thankful for it."

According to a website for the city of Copenhagen, all children who are registered as living in the city can receive free dental care. Children first receive a dental exam invitation when they turn one, with subsequent follow-ups as needed. Schoolchildren typically go to dental clinics in or near their schools, per the site, and residents born after 2004 are eligible for complementary exams and treatments until age 22. (Though due to a new law, those born before 2004 get free visits until age 18.)