one in five children never go to the dentist
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Dental care is free in the Netherlands up to the age of 18, yet one in five children never visits the dentist. In order to give children from poor families access to the right care again, Minister Carola Schouten of Poverty Policy is calling for the return of the school dentist.
Last May it was already announced that one in ten Dutch people has not been to the dentist for two years or more. That’s because they don’t dare or are afraid of a bill that is too high.” There are people who no longer go to the dentist because they can’t afford it. Their children also do not go to the dentist,” said Schouten in an interview with the AD. And that can have major consequences. For example, children run the risk of incurring greater costs later in life. Bad teeth can not only be bad for your health, but can also lead to a reduced self-esteem.
Schouten indicates that she herself used to visit the school dentist with her entire class. “We can discuss how you design that, whether it has to be by bus or whether the dentist comes to school. But if that means that children no longer have the fear or shame about bad teeth, then it is worth it,” says Schouten.
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