As an expat in the Netherlands, you might be asking yourself about the Dutch dental care system. Fortunately, the Netherlands has a great dental care system and offers a wide array of dental care services.
Unless it is an emergency, regular basic insurance does not cover dentists, this means that you have to usually buy an add-on to your insurance that offers dental care. Dental care add-ons usually offer a certain amount of dental coverage or full coverage depending on the insurance you have.
Needing a tooth surgery, like removing a wisdom tooth with a surgeon for example, does not need dental coverage as it is covered by your basic insurance.
Types of dental practices
Generally speaking, in large cities, most dental practices will have different departments like the dentist, the dental hygienist and the assistants. This means that you will not have to find a different dental practice if you need a dental filling and a plaque removal service at the same time.
Finding a dentist
In the Netherlands, only university-educated dentists provide dental services. All dentists are registered hygienists and state licensed. This is necessary so that your dentist has the appropriate experience. Every 5 years they are retested to confirm that they still have sufficient skills and knowledge. These strict hygiene rules and regulations help protect the quality of dental care in the Netherlands. Compared to most countries, Dutch dentistry is of a very high standard.
As a result, you will be in good hands with any dentist that you find. You can look for the right dentist that suits your needs and book an appointment with them. You might even get an appointment in the same day because most dentists do not have a waiting list.
