Dental care, physiotherapy, and other forms of therapy

Dental care, physiotherapy, and other forms of therapy are generally a free market in the Netherlands. This means that they aren't covered by every insurance policy (make sure to check yours before signing up), and you have a free choice of provider.

Dentists

Dental insurance

You are not obliged to have dental insurance. If you only go for 2 check-ups per year, you are better off paying the bill out of pocket.

If you need occasional extra work or are concerned about the health of your teeth, it may be wise to take out supplemental insurance for your dentist visits. Your health care provider will be able to tell you more about the available options. Often you can select coverage of €250, €500 or €750 per year.

Make sure to check which dentists your insurance works with.

Dental care for children

Children need to visit the dentist after their second birthday. You can take the whole family together in a single appointment. All primary schools in The Hague are visited twice a year by a juvenile dentist. They will do a check-up for all children that are registered with them. You will have to give permission for this.

In case the dentist detects any problems, your child will be picked up from school by an experienced supervisor and given treatment at the juvenile dentist Dental Health Care Centre.

Finding a dentist

You are free to choose your own dentist. A number of practices in The Hague have dentists who speak English and other foreign languages. Go to the website tandarts.nl to search for a conveniently located dentist who is still accepting new patients.

In case of emergency

In case of a dental emergency in evenings or weekends, you can call the Emergency Dental Services The Hague at 070-311 03 05. If needed, they will be able to refer you to a dentist on duty.

You can also type ‘spoedeisende tandarts’ into your search engine for more local options.

Physiotherapy

You can be referred to a pysiotherapist by your GP or a specialist (this may be covered by your health insurance), but in general you have a free choice of physiotherapist. This also means that, in most cases, you will have to pay for your treatment out of pocket.

You can find a list of English-speaking physiotherapists here.

You may also be interested in our information on health insurance, General Practitioner, hospitals; or emergency help.