How to register with a dentist in NL

You can contact a dental practice directly when you want routine dental care in the Netherlands. Registration processes differ by practice, and contacting a practice does not guarantee that it can accept you. This guide helps you check your insurance position, find a practice with room, check the individual dentist's BIG registration, arrange records and costs, and save the correct local emergency route. It does not diagnose dental problems or recommend a dentist.

Start with your age and your own insurance policy. The basic package covers a broad range of dental care for people under 18, but not every possible treatment. From age 18, periodic dental check-ups are not in the basic package, while specific dental treatments can still be covered. Supplementary dental insurance is optional and its cover varies. Ask your insurer what your own policy covers. Then decide what matters for practical fit, such as distance, opening hours, accessibility, language and out-of-hours arrangements.

The starting point changes with age, insurance and whether you need routine or urgent dental care.

• You are arranging routine dental care for someone under 18

  The basic package covers a broad package of children's dental care, including common checks and treatments. It does not mean every treatment is covered. Check the policy for the complete rules and ask the insurer when a proposed treatment is unclear.

• You are 18 or older

  From age 18, periodic dental check-ups are not in the basic package, while specific dental treatments can still be covered. Supplementary dental cover is optional. Check your own policy before relying on reimbursement.

• You need dental care that genuinely cannot wait

  Use the practice's out-of-hours instructions or the relevant local or regional emergency dental service. If you do not yet have a regular dentist, explain that when you contact the duty service. For a life-threatening or general medical emergency, use the route in the urgent medical help guide.

1. 1

   Check what dental cover applies to you

   The basic package covers a broad range of dental care for people under 18, but not every possible treatment. From age 18, periodic dental check-ups are not in the basic package, while specific dental treatments can still be covered. Supplementary dental insurance is optional, and its cover varies by policy. Check your own policy or ask your insurer before relying on reimbursement.

   Do this: Check the dental section of your policy for the person who needs care and ask the insurer about anything unclear.

   Documents needed

   • Your current health-insurance policy details

   Cost

   Cover depends on age, the type of care and your own policy. This guide does not publish annual prices or reimbursement limits.

   Processing time

   Check before treatment when reimbursement affects your decision.

   Common mistake: Do not read the age split as all-or-nothing. Children's cover is broad but not universal, and adult basic-package exceptions exist.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Dental reimbursement under and over age 18
2. 2

   Find a practice that is accepting new patients

   Search near your address and compare distance, opening hours, accessibility, languages and out-of-hours arrangements. ZorgkaartNederland can help you discover local practices, but its patient ratings are not official evidence of quality and its listing does not prove that a practice is accepting new patients. Ask each practice directly. A practice can have a patient stop, so making contact does not guarantee acceptance.

   Do this: Make a short list of nearby practices and ask each one whether it is currently accepting new patients.

   Documents needed

   • Your address or postcode for the local search

   Processing time

   Availability and timing are practice-specific. Ask the practice directly whether it is accepting new patients and what timing to expect.

   Common mistake: Do not choose from ratings alone or assume that an online listing means there is space. Check acceptance and practical fit with the practice itself.

   Official source

   KNMT · Professional rules for new patients and patient stops
3. 3

   Check the dentist and practical fit

   Search the individual professional in the BIG register by name or BIG number. A BIG number belongs to the individual, not the dental practice, and a practice can contain several professionals. Registration shows that the person is authorised to practise and may show disciplinary measures; it is not a quality score. Also check language, accessibility and appointment availability. If reimbursement matters, check whether your own policy has provider or network conditions rather than assuming every policy restricts provider choice.

   Do this: Check the individual dentist in the BIG register and confirm the practical details that matter to you.

   Documents needed

   • The dentist's name or BIG number
   • Your policy details if provider conditions matter

   Processing time

   Do this before completing registration or agreeing to planned treatment.

   Common mistake: Checking the practice name is not the same as checking the individual dentist, and BIG registration is not a recommendation or rating.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Checking an individual care professional in the BIG register
4. 4

   Contact the practice and register

   Ask whether the practice is accepting new patients, how its registration process works and how to book the first appointment. Registration processes differ by practice. Ask what information or documents the practice needs and how it confirms acceptance. Contacting the practice does not immediately create a treatment agreement or guarantee acceptance. You can contact a dentist directly for ordinary dental care without a GP referral.

   Do this: Contact the practice, answer its registration questions and ask it to confirm whether your registration is complete.

   Documents needed

   • Only the information and documents that this practice asks you to provide

   Cost

   Ask the practice whether any proposed first appointment or examination has a cost and what to expect before you book it.

   Processing time

   The process and confirmation time depend on the practice.

   Common mistake: Do not assume a BSN, one national form or any other document is universally required at first contact. Ask the practice what it needs and when.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Dentists as first-line care available without a referral
5. 5

   Transfer your dental record if you already had a dentist

   Tell the new practice about relevant dental history and ask how it wants to receive records. Sharing health records with another care provider generally requires your consent, so transfer is not automatic. You can also request a copy of all or part of your record and provide relevant information the new practice asks for.

   Do this: Give consent for the relevant record to be shared, or request a copy and agree with the new practice what it needs.

   Documents needed

   • Contact details for the previous dentist
   • A copy of relevant records if you requested one

   Processing time

   Arrange this after the new practice accepts you and before records are needed for ongoing care where possible.

   Common mistake: Do not assume that registering with a new practice automatically moves the old dental record.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Consent for sharing a medical record
6. 6

   Check cover and expected cost before treatment

   Ask what treatment is proposed, why it is proposed and what it is expected to cost before agreeing. From age 18, periodic dental check-ups are not in the basic package, while specific dental treatments can still be covered. Supplementary cover varies, and children follow separate basic-package rules. If reimbursement matters, check the treatment and provider conditions with your own insurer.

   Do this: Ask the practice for the proposed treatment and expected cost, then confirm relevant cover with your insurer.

   Documents needed

   • The proposed treatment or cost information from the practice
   • Your policy details

   Cost

   The amount depends on the treatment and your policy. This guide deliberately carries no annual tariff, average price, reimbursement percentage, maximum or supplementary premium.

   Processing time

   Check before treatment rather than after the bill arrives.

   Common mistake: Do not assume that every practice charges the same total or that supplementary cover pays every dental bill.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Dental reimbursement and checking your own policy
7. 7

   Keep the emergency route before you need it

   Use the out-of-hours number or triage route provided by your practice or the relevant duty service for your area. If you do not have a regular dentist and dental treatment genuinely cannot wait, contact that duty service and explain your situation. The duty dentist handles urgent follow-up that cannot wait, but is not responsible for unrelated ongoing care. Emergency treatment does not make the duty dentist your regular dentist, so arrange ordinary ongoing care separately afterward. For a life-threatening or general medical emergency, follow the urgent medical help guide.

   Do this: Save the practice's emergency instructions and the correct local or regional duty-service details in your phone.

   Open the urgent medical help guide

   Cost

   Ask the emergency service what it needs and what costs to expect. Check reimbursement with your insurer where relevant.

   Processing time

   Save the route now. Use it only when the dental problem cannot reasonably wait for normal practice hours.

   Common mistake: This is not a symptom checker. The duty dentist decides whether the problem is urgent and what cannot wait. Use /get-urgent-medical-help for life-threatening or general medical emergencies.

   Official source

   KNMT · Duty-dentist responsibility and follow-up for patients without a regular dentist

• The information the practice asks for in its own registration process
• Identity and health-insurance details if the practice asks for them
• Contact details for your previous dentist if you want relevant records transferred
• A list of medicines, allergies and relevant dental history requested by the practice

• For people under 18, the basic package covers a broad range of dental care, but not every possible treatment.
• From age 18, periodic dental check-ups are not in the basic package, while specific dental treatments can still be covered.
• Supplementary dental insurance is optional. What it reimburses depends on the policy.
• Ask what treatment is proposed and what it is expected to cost before agreeing, then check your insurer where reimbursement matters.

Start looking before you need routine treatment. Availability and timing are practice-specific, so ask each practice whether it is accepting new patients and what timing to expect. Registration is complete only when the practice confirms it has accepted you and explains its process.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• ZorgkaartNederland

  Nonprofit · Patiëntenfederatie Nederland · Free

  Find care providers near you by profession, organisation or condition, from GPs and dentists to physiotherapists, with ratings written by patients.

  It lists providers and patient ratings. It does not show which practices are currently accepting new patients, so you still have to ask them.

  www.zorgkaartnederland.nl

Services people use for this in practice. We say who runs each one. See all apps and tools.

• Assuming insurance means a practice must accept you. A patient stop or another properly supported reason can prevent registration, so ask directly and contact another practice if needed.
• Treating a BIG registration as a rating. The BIG register shows whether an individual professional is authorised to practise and may show disciplinary measures; it does not rank the practice or promise a particular experience.
• Treating child or adult dental cover as all-or-nothing. The rules differ by age, treatment and situation, so check the current policy for the person and care involved.
• Expecting an old dental record to move automatically. Relevant records are shared with consent, and you can ask for a copy where that is useful.
• Relying on a generic web result for emergency care. Save the out-of-hours number or triage route provided by your practice or the relevant duty service for your area.

• Ask the practice to confirm that it has accepted your registration and how to book the first appointment.
• Save the practice's normal contact details and its out-of-hours instructions.
• If you had a previous dentist, decide whether to consent to sharing relevant records or request a copy yourself.
• Before treatment, ask what is proposed, what it is expected to cost and what your insurer needs to confirm.