1. What is the proposal?
An additional dental training course in Rotterdam to combat the shortage in Zeeland and South Holland South.
2. Who makes the proposal?
The SGP.
3. What is the reason?
Throughout the Netherlands, some dentists have instituted a patient stop, and there are villages without a dentist. Cause: more dentists quit than join. The shortage will grow in the coming years, also because many recently graduated dentists want to work part-time.
The Netherlands now has about one 10,200 dentistsIn ten years, 42 percent of them will have stopped, most of them will retire.
At the same time, demand is increasing. The population is growing, older people keep their own teeth for longer and there is more attention to dental care for children.
Many parties (including NSC, GroenLinks-PvdA, PVV, BBB) have included in their election manifesto that the dentist must be included in the basic package – and will therefore be free.
Zeeland and Flevoland have the greatest shortage of dentists. In Zeeland the pressure is extra great, because tourists and migrant workers also need oral care. Furthermore, the province has a relatively large number of foreign dentists, which makes the population less stable – almost half of them return to their country of birth after a short or longer period of time. “The dentists in Zeeland can no longer cope,” says Ardjan Boersma, SGP faction employee in the House of Representatives.
After completing their training, many dental students continue to live in the vicinity of the city where they studied – the training courses are now in Groningen, Amsterdam and Nijmegen. That is why additional training in Rotterdam could provide relief in South Holland South and Zeeland. The Zeeland provincial government insists The government has been asking for a training course in Rotterdam for some time now. It is not surprising that the SGP has included this wish in the program; the party has a large support base in Zeeland. “Our provincial faction regularly brings this to our attention,” says Boersma.
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More and more dentists are introducing a patient freeze: ‘People have nowhere to go’
4. Is it possible?
Just before the summer, the cabinet decided to expand the number of training places for dentists from 259 to 345 – 86 additional places. The question is where they end up. The existing courses can accommodate a large part (and that is cheaper), but Rotterdam Erasmus MC would like to have its own course. At least fifty places are needed for a viable course.
Outgoing Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education, D66) must make the decision. He registered in June a letter to Parliament that “it is important to explore several possible solutions”, such as opening branches in the region, which are covered by the current training courses. Independent advice from the Higher Education Efficiency Commission will also follow on a new course.
5. Does the proposal make a difference in practice?
Not any time soon. If Erasmus MC starts training, the first dentists will start working from 2030 at the earliest. And then the question remains: when dentists graduate in Rotterdam, will they live and work in Zeeland?