Netherlands faces potential dental care crisis due to aging population

The Netherlands is facing a potential dental care crisis, described by Henri Lohr, head of dentistry at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), as a ‘mondzorginfarct’ or oral care infarct. This pressure is driven by two primary factors: an aging population and improved dental health.

While fewer elderly people require dentures—dropping from one in three adults in 1981 to one in fourteen in 2025—maintaining natural teeth requires more intensive and time-consuming procedures, such as root canals. Consequently, the average person over 75 now visits the dentist approximately three times per year, compared to twice per year a decade ago.

Regional disparities are worsening the situation. While urban areas like Amsterdam maintain a high density of dentists, rural regions such as Delfzijl, Northeast Groningen, East Drenthe, and parts of Friesland face significant shortages. In Delfzijl, a single practice serves roughly 3,000 residents, triple the ratio found in Amsterdam. The professional association KNMT has warned that without increased training of new dentists, these shortages and practice closures will continue to escalate.