CDA aiming for the first cavity-free generation by 2040

Numerous Dutch parents make too little use of free dental care made possible for their children, political party CDA said. This political party produced a memorandum advocating for more outreach to promote a "cavity-free generation" by 2040, De Volkskrant reported.

CDA MP Joba van den Berg was the initiator of the project, which will be discussed by Tweede Kamer later in the autumn. She argued that the issue of children not visiting the dentist frequently enough must be tackled with more urgency.

"A dentist told me: a cavity in a baby's teeth will later mean three thousand euros in healthcare costs,” she wrote. Having a cavity-free generation by 2040 is as important as meeting the Cabinet’s stated goal of a smoke-free generation that same year, she said

Van den Berg explained that dental care for children is fully covered by their parent’s basic health insurance. "However, this does not happen automatically. Parents must register their child with their own health insurer within four months of the birth," Van den Berg noted.

About 250 thousand of the 3.4 million young people under the age of 18 are said to not visit a dentist regularly. Van den Berg also stressed the issue was particularly present in poorer areas.

Insurers must also take a more active role in informing the general public about the importance of dental care, she continued. Moreover, she argued for more internship positions to be opened as a way to tackle the dentist shortage in some areas of the country.