People pushing dentists to yank out healthy teeth due to high costs of dental care

Dental care has become so expensive that many people have resorted to having all their teeth extracted and replacing them with dentures. People are doing this because dentures are included in the basic insurance package. The Minister of Health, Fleur Agema, responded by saying that she thinks this is “painful and sad.”

Several media outlets reported Friday that many dentists are cooperating with the person’s wishes to extract their teeth when it is not necessary. There are doubts about whether this should be allowed. The ethics code for dental care states that healthy teeth should not be extracted.

Agema responded to the news by saying that she would prefer to have dentist appointments return to the basic health insurance package, but that this would cost 2.7 billion euros and that money is currently unavailable. The minister emphasized that the choice for a type of treatment is between the patient and healthcare provider, but she finds "the situation where it is happening very sad.”

Dental care was cut from the basic, mandatory health insurance coverage in 2006. The measure was brought forward during the second Cabinet under Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, a coalition between his CDA, VVD and D66. With healthcare policy led by the VVD in that coalition, other reforms included the introduction of a health insurance deductible, a healthcare benefit, and more access to the market for private insurers.

Agema's PVV is currently in a four-party coalition with the VVD, NSC and BBB. She argued that the Cabinet is doing plenty to prevent people from avoiding healthcare. She cited plans to more than halve the deductible on health insurance, although this will likely result in premiums rising significantly.

The minister has asked the Dutch Healthcare Institute to conduct a so-called package test for dental care. This will look at what it would cost to include it in the basic insurance again, and what it would yield in the long term. But, she added, "That will take a while.”

In the meantime, Agema is advising people to contact their municipality if they cannot afford healthcare. She said that the municipalities have budgets for this.

She emphasized that it is important for people not to leave their teeth in poor condition as this can cause other health problems, such as cardiovascular diseases. "It is all very annoying for people. It hurts a lot."

The Netherlands is among the wealthiest countries in the world, and ranks 12th on the International Monetary Fund’s 2025 list of countries with the highest GDP per capita.