Most Dutch toddlers never visit the dentist

Only 37 percent of Dutch children between the ages of 2 and 4 years ever visit the dentist according to figures from heath insurer Zilveren Kruis that newspaper AD published on Friday.

Insurers CZ and Menzis confirmed the figures - kids under the age of five hardly ever go to the dentist. After the age of four, dentist visits increase to 80 percent, but mostly just to fix damage sustained to teeth, according to the Dutch association for pediatric dentistry NVvK.

This is a big problem, according to a study by TNo and UMC Groningen. By the age of 5 about 41 percent of kids already have at least one cavity. The NVvK adds that parents have a misconception that the care of milk teeth is not as important. "If baby teeth fall out prematurely, it can cause space problems or misalignment in the adult teeth", president Hellen Blom said to the newspaper.