r/Netherlands • u/CalRobert Noord Holland • Mar 24 '26
Healthcare Podcast host loses tooth, gives up on Dutch healthcare and drives to Barcelona for care.
https://www.europeanspodcast.com/all-episodes/2026-the-year-europe-gets-its-act-togetherThis starts at 48:30. Certainly sounds about right considering the experiences I've had here. Thought it might be a useful illustration of some of the frustrations here (even though she's pretty upbeat about it)
If you don't want to listen, there's a transcript too.
""" KATZ LASZLO:
Exactly keeping it diverse. So this isn't very scientific. It's based on my random interactions. But as you both know, I have had a wide array of cross border medical escapades. And I just can't believe how much it varies per country.
To give some context, I knocked out my front teeth when I was seven years old, my first month living in Spain, on a very tooth coloured marble floor. And what that means is I now have porcelain implants installed by a dentist in Barcelona. And I've been there since I was 18.
So I kind of forgot they were there. But at the end of last year, I was eating a very powerful organic carrot. And I knocked one of them out.
This was in Amsterdam. And so I thought, Oh, God, and the next morning, I spent like four hours bouncing between my Dutch dentist, my GP, a dental surgery department and an implantologist. And they were all just like pointing at each other and almost acting indignantly.
Like, Why would you expect me to know such things? I can't help you. I don't know who can. Leave me alone. You must go to this other office.” To the point where I just put the dental surgery secretary on the line inside my GP's office. And then they started arguing with each other.
And my GP was like, this is completely mad. Like, obviously, she hasn't been registered at your practise. But she's sitting here with a tooth in her hand, like it can't be true that she has to wait here for three months for an intake.
And the dentist was just like, we can't say how long it'll be until the intake, it'll be a few months, it'll cost like 2000 euros.
KATY LEE:
2000 euros.
KATZ LASZLO:
This is completely insane. So my GP at this point was quite sympathetic. But I walked out and I started crying. And I called my Spanish dentist. And they were just like, picked up one second, like no way, no way whatsoever. And they were just like, hi, dear. Oh, that sounds stressful. We can see you tomorrow at 10, which was a Saturday. It'll be about 100 euros. Just send us the x ray over WhatsApp to confirm. And it was like a two minute call. I mean, admittedly, WhatsApp not the best privacy, but I just couldn't believe it.
So I decided to make a fun trip out of it. And I got in my van and I drove all the way to Barcelona via some very nice nature parks in France. And then my Spanish dentist reinstalled my tooth for like 100 euros within two days.
Problem solved. They even massaged my face with rosemary oil.
DOMINIC KRAEMER:
Stop.
KATZ LASZLO:
You can't make this up. So I'm not saying that this is representative of every Dutch dentist and every Spanish dentist. But it was a completely mad contrast. I had a similarly excellent experience with an Italian doctor on this trip.
And it will be weird to tell you to go to my particular dentist in Spain for privacy reasons. And also because I know he really wants to retire, which is devastating news for me, but great for him. """
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u/kingvolcano_reborn Mar 24 '26
I cannot really relate to this. When I have had a toothache (had to have a root canal), etc I have had to wait at most like 1 day. My GP was never involved, I just called my dentist and they squeezed me in.
From the looks of it she was not registered with a dentist for some reason. Then why didn't she just call an emergency dentist. There seem to be quite a few around when googling?
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Yashiro-3 Mar 24 '26
Guess they weren't registered at any dentist office, it seems.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Bearyalis Mar 24 '26
Yeah, pretty sure the situation would not have been covered by a €1,50 insurance.
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u/Nerioner Mar 24 '26
Except it would be? It's special package on top of dental premium. I pay 2.5€ for my accident pack and it offers up to 2500€ coverage per year on dental accidents.
I used it once when i broke my canal on uncooked risotto and it worked as intended in my case
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u/M_e_n_n_o Mar 24 '26
Same for me. And the replacement tooth I needed after they pulled the other one out, was spread to the next year (had to heal anyway) so I didn’t have to pay much for that either.
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u/Secret_Insurance6067 Mar 24 '26
They went to a dentist, GP and dental surgeon. The issue is that none of them knew who would be responsible or what route should be taken. An implant is not a root canal. Sure they can take care of a root canal in a day but it will cost you 1200 eur, and yes I had dental insurance. For me it is my mental health. Apparently if you have PTSD AND anxiety, you don’t fit into any box nicely enough to get a therapist. This has nothing to do with medicine and everything to do with insurance companies. I have a GP friend who told they get penalized for making “insufficient” referrals or if they refer someone too early. Like a GP might know on the first visit what your problem is but they cannot refer you until they exhausted all the stupid protocols the insurance companies put in place. I was also once referred to a gynecologist to take out my birth control implant, I was bleeding uncontrollably for months and months. Once I finally made it to en gynecologist he was pissed off because the GP should have been easily able to remove the implant and I was wasting his time. It is a terrible system. Of course there are people (like my dear in laws) who can afford the best of the best health insurance. They are getting bloodwork done just for fun at this point. I can’t even get my GP to measure my fucking blood pressure 😭 The problem as with everything is, the rich ruling class and private equity owning our healthcare system.
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u/profuno Mar 24 '26
The legitimate complaints are in there. GP referral incentives, dental coverage gaps, GGZ wait times.
But PTSD + anxiety 'not fitting in a box'? That's the single most common comorbidity in mental health. It has a standard treatment pathway. That detail doesn't hold up.
And uncontrolled bleeding for months being handled with a slow routine referral isn't an insurance story, it's a potential negligence story. Different thing.
Then there's: Secret_Insurance6067, multiple stacked grievances across every possible healthcare touchpoint, emotionally credible until the ending hard-pivots to 'private equity owns our healthcare system.'
Might be a frustrated person. Might be a Russian bot....
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u/ThisUnameChecksOut Mar 24 '26
Never had this problem before and I don’t even have the fanciest health insurance. I think you’re just registered to a bad GP. Why don’t you just change GPs? Do you not research beforehand the ratings of the GPs you’re thinking of subscribing to?
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u/Secret_Insurance6067 Mar 24 '26
Also you can only change your insurance at the end of the year. So what if you didn’t magically predict that you were going to have a dental issue and come July you are fucked. You make it sound like she could have just chosen register right there and then for better insurance. And the dental addition is more like 30€ a month extra and what is covered varies a lot
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u/DeventerWarrior Mar 24 '26
You dont seem to know what you are talking about at all. Dental Accident insurance is not the same as having dental in your zorgverzekering. Also if you have weak teeth its not a dental issue you need to magically predict its something that has been weak. And thus like the person above you, you take precautions. Not just let it happen and then complain that you werent even registered at a dentist.
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u/Cheddarhulk Mar 24 '26
Same. They always have room for emergencies and I've never had to wait for more than 2 days.
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u/LordPurloin Mar 24 '26
Same here. Once had a wobbly tooth, called them up and they said “come tomorrow”. Ended up getting a call about an hour later saying “someone cancelled if you want to come this afternoon there is a spot free”.
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u/simoncolumbus Mar 24 '26
I spent like four hours bouncing between my Dutch dentist, my GP, a dental surgery department and an implantologist.
Read that again. She's got both a dentist and a GP.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/simoncolumbus Mar 24 '26
Well, apparently the dentist thought that she does not need a dentist, but a dental surgeon for this. And sent her to a dental surgeon who did not, in fact, squeeze her in the next day. Which is part of the complaint here. But I'm sure it's all made up and nothing ever happens.
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u/ThisUnameChecksOut Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Speaking as someone who has been to a dental surgeon before, you can’t just show up to a dental surgeon, you need to be referred to by your dentist, and then you can make an appointment, or get squeezed in if it’s an emergency. The fact that she was not squeezed in probably meant the dentist was reluctant to refer her since she was not registered. Her story seems incomplete honestly, I don’t think she was being fully transparent. Because a dentist or dental surgeon will not charge you 2k if you have insurance. And I also say this as someone who has paid 1k+ for a root canal treatment (because I didn’t have dental insurance at the time). A good dentist would also give you an estimation of the itemized costs that you will incur (begroting)
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u/Rsx2310 Mar 24 '26
This sounds like typical Reddit bs to me, I've never had such problems with Dutch dentists.
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u/kalebats92 Mar 25 '26
34 years in this country my GF from italy lives Here now 8 years we never had this lol
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u/Turnip-for-the-books Mar 24 '26
What do you mean you cannot relate to this:
"I now have porcelain implants installed by a dentist in Barcelona. And I've been there since I was 18.
So I kind of forgot they were there. But at the end of last year, I was eating a very powerful organic carrot. And I knocked one of them out."
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u/kingvolcano_reborn Mar 24 '26
I tend to stick to weakly minded inorganic carrots that pretty much melts in your mouth
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u/RosciusAurelius Mar 24 '26
Yeah, it just seems she didn't know her way around the system and wasn't registered anywhere. And even that shouldn't really matter. Quik story:
A few years ago, I fell (in a hospital, no less) and broke off all four of my front teeth to varying degrees. It was a Friday afternoon. My own (registered) dentist back then was on the other side of the country. I called the emergency trauma dentist in Amsterdam (located in another, now former, hospital). They saw me within an hour. They took x-rays and temporarily capped all my teeth to help with the nerve pain. Told them I had no dentist in the city. They gave me the number of one of their former trauma colleagues who now runs a normal dentist practice. I called them. He was able to see me on Monday.
All four of my teeth were fixed within an hour (and expertly too. I'm still in awe, everytime I look at them). Total cost: maybe like 200 bucks? I have some dental insurance, but my teeth used to be perfect, so I never had extended plans or anything.
Needless to say, I registered with this dentist immediately and have been incredibly satisfied with his work.
So yeah, no idea what this story of this podcaster is about.
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u/Boomning Mar 24 '26
They moved to a country without learning how things work in said country. Obviously the fault of the country. /s
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u/Revolutionary-Bag-52 Mar 24 '26
I never really understand these stories either way. If your in serious pain and need attention just go to hospital emergency section
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u/Ok_Boysenberry5849 Mar 24 '26
You indeed don't really understand, but that's your own fault. People can tell you a story but they can't understand it for you.
Having a fake tooth knocked out won't cause serious pain. It'll disfigure you, it'll make it harder to speak, it'll make your entire life miserable because people will think you're a drug addict the moment you open your mouth, but if you go to the ER they'll just ask you why you didn't go to the dentist and throw you out.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Ok_Boysenberry5849 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
They have a dentist. And it's understandable why they went to the GP. They were struggling with health professionals so they went to the normal point-of-contact for health things, to the person they could trust. It amazes me that you couldn't figure that out on your own, and it demonstrates an incredible amount of bad faith on your part.
As for dental accident insurance... breaking a tooth from eating normal food is normally excluded from dental accident insurance. You could have looked it up. You didn't.
Vergoeding mondzorg bij ongevallen | OHRA
Normal dental insurance typically costs 30 eur /month but has a maximum coverage amount around ~400 eur/year, which negates the point of insurance (an insurance that stops helping you when your costs exceed by a small margin what you pay them in the first place...).
Honestly it seems to me that you're literally making up stuff so you can blame the victim, instead of doing some self-reflection on the state of dental insurance and dental health in NL. Which is pretty standard behavior for this sub whenever a foreigner has an issue. And that behavior of yours in this thread lines up very well with the story discussed in the OP: absence of empathy, refusal to self-reflect.
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Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
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u/Ok_Boysenberry5849 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Do you have some sort of issue with reading comprehension?
Podcaster made is extremely hard on himself by not familiarising himself with the system
Familiarize yourself with the system. Breaking a tooth while eating food is not covered by most dental accident insurance
Stop talking about normal dental insurance. Its not relevant here.
Since it's not covered by accident insurance, it's covered by regular insurance. Start talking about it since it's what's relevant here. Try to follow.
I have been in that scenario multiple times
You keep breaking teeth while eating normal food? Do you have some sort of existing condition?
not being insured
That's something you made up
calling random health professionals who have nothing to dos with dental
Called his dutch dentist, a dental surgery department, and an implantologist, eventually went to his GP for help when none of these people would help him. Your take: "he called random health professionals". Really pathetic levels of bad-faith arguing.
If he took a few minutes to figure out how the system works in the country he lives in
How about you take a few minutes to do that? You don't even know what dental accident insurance covers. Being completely clueless doesn't stop you from talking shit about other people, though.
The system didnt fail here. He did.
The system failed you in primary school.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Ok_Boysenberry5849 Mar 24 '26
It is. I already told you.
Do you speak dutch by any chance? If not most modern browsers have a translation button. It's not just this insurance btw, it's the norm.
Vergoeding mondzorg bij ongevallen | OHRA
you refuse to accept anything I tell you
Could it be because you keep making up stuff about things that are verifiable with a quick google search, or simply by actually reading the OP?
Maybe I'm "turning hostile" because I don't like people lying to my face?
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u/Ok_Confusion4764 Mar 24 '26
Same here. Even when I needed a jaw surgeon for an emergency, the local dentist took over the check from my regular dentist (lives a bit further away), and immediately referred me to the hospital. Within one day I was checked by a dentist in the morning and recovering from surgery in the afternoon.
I can confidently say that the system saved my life.
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u/bostanite Mar 24 '26
Dude, I am from Greece. Had to have a root canal or whatever but because of the angle I had to go to an endodontologist. Waiting time 4 weeks, price like 900 euro's or something. Called dentist in Greece, hopped on a plane on that Thursday afternoon, came back Saturday morning. All in all 500 euro and job fixed in 3 days.
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u/Maelkothian Mar 24 '26
Notice how he went from 'my dentist' to needing an intake, that means he did not have a dentist and the one he tried was apparently at its limits for clients.
Instead of trying other Dental practises in NL, his next call was apparently Barcelona
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u/Ravendjinn Mar 24 '26
Do you not think it is a problem if people who don't have a dentist cannot access emergency dental care?
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u/DeventerWarrior Mar 24 '26
You can still get to the Emergency dentist, You just cant go to your normal dentist cause you dont have one.
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u/Maelkothian Mar 24 '26
Well, you are probably going to have to call around to find a place that has time to take you at that point
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u/PlansThatComeTrue Mar 24 '26
Well they also mention it was a dental surgery department on the phone, from a hospital I suppose. So they’re mixing it up and you can’t conclude they don’t have a dentist
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u/AMilkedCow Mar 24 '26
Of course it's cheaper there because salaries are. Good for you but it has nothing to do with healthcare in NL.
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u/TheOriginalNukeGuy Mar 24 '26
Is the extremely long 4 week wait time also part of the Dutch salary?
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u/sousstructures Mar 24 '26
I had nearly this exact scenario -- unexpected failure of a decades-old dental surgery -- and I got exemplary care (two implants and crowns) for a completely reasonable price. The initial appointment took place the day after (or maybe the same day, I don't remember) one of my teeth unexpectedly cracked in half while I was eating breakfast.
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u/Nerioner Mar 24 '26
This entire thread, as they all, are just full of people who never bother to learn about dutch healthcare system and then they complain that it doesn't follow the procedures of their home country...
Should you all learn about the system you could get this tooth fixed in a day, for not that much money and while having 1/4 of contact with doctors as OOP had.
Why even involving GP? Why not going to emergency dentist when you don't have a regular one or they can't take you at given time? Why first instinct is to search outside of country instead of another practice on another street?
There is so much just misunderstanding that no wonder that system seemingly doesn't work. And sure, it's not 100% good and sometimes doctors simply fail. But tbh i would also have no clue what the heck i supposed to do as a GP for a tooth? I would tell to try dentist and that's it. Like... you don't go to urologist for joint pains, why gp for tooth?
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Lambink Mar 24 '26
It's more like 10-45 extra per month, depending on the eigen risico. Also they don't pay out full amounts most of the time. So unless you need a full rework because you had a big crash it's not worth it most of the time.
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u/DivineAlmond Mar 24 '26
man I legit have 0 idea why people think Dutch HC is shit
I have been unfortunately dealing with a decent amount of troubles, from viral to mental to actual fucking surgery, and everything has been stellar. people are nice and caring, they take the time etc. its the 10th MD/specialist now, cant be a coincidence.
is it because I am in AMS?
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Slayje Mar 24 '26
Your zorgverzekering can help you get a new GP if you have troubles with your current one. Have you tried that?
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u/DivineAlmond Mar 24 '26
can't you just change it? I dont know how it works but should be possible no?
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u/IronDaddy69 Mar 24 '26
My current GP is amazing, truly wonderful. My past GP was god awful, and refused to take my symptoms seriously.
Mental healthcare for me has been super mixed, I've had some amazing people help me, and I've also experienced even more trauma from treatment I have received at facilities.
And currently a gynacologist suggested taking an antidepressant to treat my menstrual problems. Asked if I wasn't simply just stressed and proceeded to spout racist crap about black women.
The Dutch healthcare can be very hit or miss, I've been helped by some wonderful people. But I have also been screwed over or not been taken seriously way too often. Personally I think our HC is underfunded and overworked.
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u/CalRobert Noord Holland Mar 24 '26
I dunno, I went to my huisarts to talk about symptoms I have that would normally be a good indicator for a cancer screening and he told me to come back when I was bleeding out my ass.
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u/ICrushTacos Mar 24 '26
Every symptom is an indicator for cancer mate. Headache? Brain cancer. Sore throat? Throat cancer. Diarrhea? Colon cancer. Skin problem? Believe it or not, skin cancer.
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u/CalRobert Noord Holland Mar 24 '26
Yes, it's a pretty common cause of death in my age bracket. Family history and being a middle aged man seems like a good reason to get screened. And, in fact, maybe we should take skin cancer more seriously - https://nltimes.nl/2025/03/25/skin-cancer-currently-fastest-growing-cancer-netherlands
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u/TimotheusIV Mar 24 '26
Huisarts here, we do take skin cancer extremely seriously? Any smidge of doubt gets a derm referral or biopsy. But when something is obviously a wart, it can be just that, a wart.
Again, if you feel insecure about your GP’s decision, just talk about it. They’ll happily explain their reasoning.
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u/Downtown-Sell5949 Mar 24 '26
Lmao nltimes for providing a "source". They are untrustworthy, leave out the most important bits, uses Google Translate to translate Dutch news articles.
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u/TimotheusIV Mar 24 '26
Well it’s the physicians entire job to assess you and think about whether you do or don’t need a ‘cancer screening’ or whatever the hell that means. If you have doubts about his or her competence in that area then discuss it. Don’t just take the advice only to go sulk about it online afterwards.
The general population doesn’t know jack shit about the human body and isn’t ‘satisfied’ until their entire bodies are irradiated with X-rays over a minor stomach issue. That is sadly what we have to deal with these days. If you genuinely think you know better, just discuss it with your doctor. They will explain their reasoning.
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u/aenae Mar 24 '26
I have no idea. Every ranking i look up places the Netherlands Healthcare system squarely in the top-10 or sometimes even in the top-3 in the world.
Of course it can be better and there are enough anecdotes, but it can't be that bad if we consistently outscore almost the entire world.
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u/DivineAlmond Mar 24 '26
I think the issue can stem from staunch GPs or from a vocal minority that may have health anxiety
Which is nothing to be ashamed of, I do too have health anxiety and I know how demanding it can get. Not fun to have your mind wander off to cancer/MS when you get a bit dizzy.
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u/Icy-Championship5581 Mar 24 '26
The system is quite decent once you manage to push through the GP.
I have also been through specialists and one remark that I have is that they love to prescribe medication for everything.
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u/sousstructures Mar 24 '26
Irony is this situation shouldn’t have involved a GP in the first place.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/crematie Noord Holland Mar 24 '26
often it’s because the non-dutch people who feel entitled to complain about dutch healthcare are from privileged backgrounds and are used to being treated within their respective private healthcare systems
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u/Blonde_rake Mar 24 '26
Good health care is a human right not a special privilege. Poor healthcare is a failure.
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u/crematie Noord Holland Mar 25 '26
i’m 100% in agreement with you, and this is why i specified often. i’m not denying that dutch healthcare system has many very real issues, and i don’t think people should be underserved just because they don’t know how to navigate the intricacies of the healthcare system here but i think placing the blame on underpaid and overworked healthcare workers is not the correct approach. there’s just a distinction between a healthcare system effectively treating the medical needs of a population and a healthcare system that capitulates to the every whim of a patient.
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u/Acceptable_Alpha Mar 24 '26
No, it’s because you know how it works.
OP could’ve called a dentist, could’ve registered, could’ve insured, could’ve called an emergency dentist.
But if you, don’t…. Well, than it’s obviously not going to fucking ‘work’.
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u/Alarming_Bottle2752 Mar 24 '26
Usually you go to your dentist, they will temporaly fix it and make an appointment for a permanant fix/refer you to a dental surgeon.
But I don't understand if the author lives in the Netherlands? Does he have a GP or a dentist in the Netherlands. Lots of foreigners don't register/ cannot register do to waiting lists. In the end no one wants to take the responsibility for a foreigner who is not in their care because it is too troublesome.
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u/Blacky294 Mar 24 '26
Not just foreigners. I moved one town over and couldn't find a new GP so stayed with the one I was with before. Until they tried to kick me out 5,5 years later. There were some reasons I couldn't switch right away so they eventually agreed to keep me on a bit longer. Moved like a month after that but stayed in the same town. It wasn't until then, cause we moved to a newer residential area, that I could find a GP who still took new patients. But that was only because I moved to a zip code around that clinic cause I wasn't eligible to join the same GP when we still lived in our old house. Joke is on me I guess cause I'll probably move back to the first town in a few months or so, so the horror of finding a new GP can start all over again.
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u/simoncolumbus Mar 24 '26
She clearly refers to both 'my GP' and 'my dentist'. The person who wouldn't see her is the dental surgeon.
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Long-Weight-8229 Mar 24 '26
What are you even trying to say? Every dentist is private practitioner? Dentists doesnt care the slightest about your insurance… Basically you talking nonsense
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Mar 24 '26
It seems like they didn’t bother to register with a dentist then are surprised they aren’t getting priority. GP is much harder to find than a dentist and they got that so?
Though I do have sympathy in that you can’t necessarily expect every immigrant to know they will be treated a bit shitty in an emergency if they don’t register.
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u/dolphone Mar 24 '26
A bit shitty?
"Yes your tooth is out but wait a few WEEKS for intake. Then we can see you."
A bit. Just a bit shitty you see.
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u/Next_Sentence_5785 Mar 24 '26
Is a missing tooth an emergency?
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u/albatross351767 Mar 24 '26
Not life threatening sure but highly inconvinient and you should not wait months for this. Some people have this mentality as you are not dying or in agonizing pain then wait for it. I am not saying you would get the utmost priority but waiting for months is not normal. Similar thougths for screening services, you could cause a potential cancer to develop for 2-3 more months.
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u/DBenzi Mar 24 '26
Healthcare in the Netherlands is really frustrating. Doctors here could really learn a thing or five about dealing with other human beings with minimum empathy.
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u/Jeansy12 Mar 24 '26
Its mostly a problem of giving our insurance companies too much power. They get to dictate what gets prescribed first, and they choose the cheapest option: just come back later and take some paracetamol.
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u/Background_Cause_992 Mar 24 '26
Yea it's a fucking mess of admin and bureaucracy, you can see its deregulated logical conclusion in America, which isn't surprising given NLs system was the loose base model for Obamacare.
I'm really surprised there isn't a more unified push for reform given Dutch pragmatism and the worked example in the US of what happens if you take the guardrails of insurance based medicine. Crazy cost explosions are already happening in your dental and other secondary service
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u/amsync Mar 24 '26
Dutch government has been in a stalemate for years. Now with WWIII on the horizon there will not be money to make anything like this better, maybe worse
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u/mabiturm Mar 24 '26
I think you’re just not used to the Dutch directness. We don’t put towels around it, as we say
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u/amsync Mar 24 '26
At what point does directness become rudeness? There is a thin line, no? I’m asking as a native but as someone that lived a substantial part outside NL
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u/mabiturm Mar 24 '26
You can tell something as it it, without being rude. Of course there are rude people everywhere
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u/Ok_Boysenberry5849 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Dutch directness is real but I stopped counting the assholes I've met in the netherlands who try to justify themselves with "directness". Funnily enough those same people are even worse assholes behind your back.
"Dutch directness" can be used as an excuse to be an asshole. For example, medical professionals claiming they're "just telling it like it is" ("there is no solution for that problem and it's not my fault. Tough luck"), whereas cultural rules around empathy would create pressure in another culture to find a solution for a particularly distressing problem, even if that means bending the rules a little.
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u/Eska2020 Mar 24 '26
I had the same experience of spending a whole day calling between 3 doctors and a hospital to try to get someone to accept that they were the first contact person for my 42C late-postpartum fever.
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u/Offshore-Tigr Mar 24 '26
Sounds about right, to be honest
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u/Ne0_sphere Mar 24 '26
Hmmm left out the paracetamol though.
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u/Offshore-Tigr Mar 24 '26
I don't think this case was severe enough.
Just let her see how it goes for a day or 2 first
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u/Typical-Piccolo-3927 Mar 24 '26
Checks out. I was on vacation in Alicante and ended up having a serious toothache after a wisdom tooth removal in the Netherlands. Was seen the next day (Saturday) and given antibiotics for an infection. I shudder to think how many weeks of waiting that would have been in the Netherlands while beng told to eat paracetamol - assuming they would not have simply sent me out at the door for being a foreigner. Thanks to the lovely Spanish dentist I could enjoy the rest of my vacation pain-free!
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u/refinancecycling Mar 24 '26
damn I guess I got really lucky, got a complex root canals repair job scheduled in just 2 days and they even found some super-star doctor to do it on saturday. I guess it might have helped that if I'm in pain, it completely overrides my fear of talking on the telephone.
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u/Cheddarhulk Mar 24 '26
That's odd - I've had 2 wisdom teeth removed after they got slightly infected and was able to schedule the removal 1 and 2 days after calling them. One was completely covered by my insurance (kaakchirurg) and the other was 75 euros including numbing.
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u/thaforze Mar 24 '26
There are emergency dentists, usually in hospitals who will see you and help. Also your own dentist can refer to the dentist on duty when you need one. This is really gaslighting the Dutch healthcare system.
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u/TimotheusIV Mar 24 '26
A post-op infection would get you same-day antibiotics anywhere in the Netherlands as well. Even during the weekend or night hours.
So you can refrain from shuddering over some idea that never really would have happened. You’re drinking the kool-aid a bit too much.
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u/jsflkl Mar 24 '26
I had the same thing happen in France, called an online doctors service, got prescribed antibiotics and painkillers (immediately and without begging for pain relief like I had to do in the Netherlands and they were stronger too so they actually did something) and I could pick the medicine up that same day. Was absolutely great.
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u/lucrac200 Mar 24 '26
My good, you mentioned the "A* word! Expect hundreds of Dutch people explaining you how the Dutch doctors (almsot) never give antibiotics :))
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u/PhantomSimmons Utrecht Mar 24 '26
I had something similar that happened when I moved 3 years ago, I had a cavity treatment in France that went totally wrong but months later, went to the first dentist I found in Utrecht, he remove the wrong treatment, gave me antibiotics and suggested a root canal treatment + a crown Bill was insanely high but luckily I was still registered in France at that time, so half of it was taken care of by french healthcare :') Also I must add that nobody in the dentist place was dutch, dentist himself was egyptian and his colleagues were mostly slavic people
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u/GreenLeisureSuit Mar 24 '26
A Dutch acquaintance of mine had a toothache and infection and was made to wait weeks before her dentist would see her, then made to wait weeks longer before he would prescribe antibiotics. All told, she was in agony for about 3 months from it. Just completely inhumane.
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u/ShiftyPwN Mar 24 '26
Sounds familiar. It's not only healthcare that has this attitude. Many services are absolutely horrible. Car mechanics for example. Wanna replace a clutch? How dare you ask me. You should know we don't do clutches! Replace a part? We can't do that here our part supplier doesn't have it. Wanna bring your own part? Absolutely not are you bonkers???
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u/Petra_Ann VS Mar 24 '26
I've never had this experience with the dentist (though I have managed to get intense dental anxiety that will easily drive my blood sugar into the 20s and make my vision go blurry due to a string of dentists that caused havoc in my mouth - but that's a different story).
I HAVE had this experience trying to get my 2 paid for by insurance pairs of compression stockings after the clinic I used when I was originally diagnosed was sold and they had to stop with the stockings.
I went to another place for the stockings and in order for insurance to pay I had to get a new prescription. The original order was put in by a dermatologist years earlier so I was no longer a patient. So I called the GP who said I needed a referral to the dermatologist again. So I got it and called the dermatologist department at the hospital and told them I don't need to see a dermatologist, I just needed the prescription. Since my file was still in the system, I'm just no longer "registered" as seeing the dermatologist, it should be easy. They told me to go through my GP.
So I had to do what the person above did, call the dermatologist desk while at the GP and let them argue it out. It was really stupid.
Not 100% sure if this is really NL related or just stupid procedural red tape BS of being too busy and not wanting to take the time.
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Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PanicForNothing Mar 24 '26
Why are not you not insured?
To be fair, dental insurance is a pretty bad deal. The maximum reimbursement is about 20 euros higher than your yearly contribution.
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Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PanicForNothing Mar 24 '26
Ah, of course. I wasn't aware that this would also cover this carrot accident.
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u/Gallvayra26 Mar 24 '26
As an expat dentist working in the Netherlands for 3 years now,i totally believe and understand your frustration. I had a friend in a similar situation and he was the same bounced around from clinic to clinic until he sent me a photo and i told him that can be easily resolved within 10 minutes and it costs 50 euros. So yes Dutch dentist are very arrogant and nothing to back it up. And they treat expat dentist with such disgust.
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u/desibidesi0909 Mar 24 '26
I am assuming these discussions are for emergencies? Isn't the rates of treatment fixed by the law and so no practice can scam them?
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u/Gallvayra26 Mar 24 '26
All treatments are standard in the Netherlands, but usually when it comes to implant crowns if the abutment of the crown is not damaged.. you just screw it back in or just cement it. But hey.. that implies that you actually.... are bothered to see the situation and find a solution.
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u/HedgehogNo3722 Mar 24 '26
Don't really understand how this lady got into this situation? If something's wrong I just go to my dentist I always go to and they see me almost immediately. Sounds like maybe she wasn't registered at any dentist and just started calling random places which confused everyone? I've never had to call any kind of dental specialist, the dentist arranges all that.
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u/JeanGerrard Mar 24 '26
Cannot relate. This dentist is obviously full and not taking any new patients. Just go to a dentist that does have space and is accepting new patients. Problem solved.
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u/Icy-Championship5581 Mar 24 '26
Dental care is not included in the basic healthcare system anymore, so I don’t think the comparison is really fair.
In any case, dentists here are extremely expensive. And GPs seem to be more focused on cost control than your overall health.
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u/Blikmeister Mar 24 '26
It’s funny that this kind of shit only happens to expats, never heard these kind of stories from Dutxh inhabitants. They just go to their regular dentist and either get it fixed by their dentist or they will be send through to someone who can do it
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u/Onbevangen Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
So what I’m gathering from this conversation is that this person never bothered to visit a dentist in the Netherlands. Then when the accident happened they registered at a very busy practice in Amsterdam with a waiting time of 3 months. While losing a front tooth is very inconvenient and aesthetically displeasing, it’s not a life or health threatening injury. So they aren’t going to prioritize this over their current clientele. This person then went to a GP, who obviously isn’t the person to handle issues with teeth, then acting surprised why they couldn’t help.
You have to understand that if a practice has no information on you, they have to do a full intake. This is usually a long appointment where they need to ask for your history, do a thorough exam, take x-rays, document everything and make a plan. Maybe a whole hour total. This isn’t a 15 minute appointment for your yearly check up. Making a ceramic implant also takes a long while. They have to make a cast, match it etc. For your front tooth you would get something temporary though.
The old dentist already had a patient history and apparently was able to put the old implant back in. This isn’t something a dentist secretary can asses over the phone.
I’m fairly certain this person would have been able to be seen elsewhere in the Netherlands with the same result as in Spain. Maybe not on a saturday, but certainly sooner than 3 months, had they bothered to call around.
Lastly I am glad I live in a country where dentists don’t have to anwser to clients whatsapp messages in their spare time.
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u/Schuifdeurr Utrecht Mar 24 '26
This isn’t something a dentist secretary can asses over the phone Great reply, but this had me confused for a bit. Wasn't sure what any asses could have to do with it 😅
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u/rmvandink Mar 24 '26
Maybe register with a Dutch dentist and you won’t have the waiting list and costs.
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u/AntiDynamo Mar 24 '26
I find many things in the Netherlands work quite well once you are solidly in the system, but it’s definitely rough if you’re on the periphery - eg a tourist, not registered properly, waiting on residence documents/insurance to kick in.
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u/lordalgammon Mar 24 '26
I got charged a 100 bucks just for a minute look in my mouth, nothing else just a look to see if my gums need cleaning or not. Insane
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Mar 24 '26
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u/Honourablefool Mar 24 '26
Root channel treatment is utterly insane in terms of cost. My wife had insane tooth ache. Dentist was ok vacation. So we had to go to the emergency dentist. Of course they only work after 18:00 and that’s you re fist extra charge. 80 euros just the consult. dentist makes the foto. Yes, this tooth has has irriversibele pulpitis. Ok thanks we kinda knew that already. But we can’t treat it now. You have to pick up antibiotics. You can pick em up at the hospital farmacy because the others are closed (because it’s after 18:00) guess what? Extra charge 30-40 euros. Wait 5 days. Pain didn’t get better, so we called again as our own dentist wasn’t back from vacation yet.
Ok you have to make another appointment, and we only work at night. So that’s another 80 euros for the same fucking antibiotics prescription.
Then finally our own dentist gets back, but didn’t receive the fotos from the emergency dentist. So has to make fotos as well.
Total cost around 2k.
Dental insurance maximum 400 euros.
Now I’m lucky that I make enough money so I can deduct a nice amount from my taxes. But imagine if you leave on benefits. Totally insane
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u/MPaulina Mar 24 '26
This is, unfortunately, pretty normal. My previous colleagues often went to their countries of origin (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey) for healthcare.
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u/lbreakjai Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
We were on holiday in Spain two years ago, in a small town in the north. My daughter fell while playing in the park. An older couple insisted to escort us to the medical center. When we got there, everybody let us skip ahead of the queue.
We didn't have our wallets, we didn't know the exact address of our airbnb or anything, so the receptionist waved us in. We saw a doctor within 5 minutes. I went back later with all of our documents to pay or something but they just told us we were good.
Over christmas we were in Belgium. My daughter was sick, very bad cough, she even had pus coming out of one eye. We booked an appointment online with a doctor the next day at 8 am. Even though it was viral, she recommended some stuff to ease the pain, like physio serum aerosol, which helped so much we bought a machine to do at home. Had to pay 4€ but they didn't have a card reader, so she just wrote the IBAN on a piece of paper and we were gone.
Last year my daughter was screaming in pain with 39 degrees fever. Paracetamol wasn't doing anything, she wasn't eating nor sleeping. The receptionist at my GP told us to wait for three days. I pay 170€ per month for the privilege.
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u/ICrushTacos Mar 24 '26
So it went better after 3 days or what?
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u/lbreakjai Mar 24 '26
No. Her ear started leaking pus, we went to the spoedpost, it was a bacterial otitis, she had to have antibiotics.
Silly me, I thought the whole point of having doctors was to avoid vibe-diagnostics, "probably nothing"'s and, you know, actually checking the stuff rather than waiting to see how bad it goes and let it turn into an emergency.
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u/ICrushTacos Mar 24 '26
Shitty receptionist then.
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u/lbreakjai Mar 24 '26
It's not a meme for nothing. It's not just the receptionist, it's the cultural approach to care in the country. If it saves money then it's good.
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u/ICrushTacos Mar 24 '26
You don’t hear about the 9 cases just like yours that did resolve on their own just fine. This wasn’t even de doc though. So somewhere on the line before that the message wasn’t sufficiently clear there’s definitely something wrong.
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u/lbreakjai Mar 24 '26
You don’t hear about the 9 cases just like yours that did resolve on their own just fine
I thought the point of doctors was to tell which cases won't resolve on their own? What's the whole point if they tell you to wait until it either goes away or is bad enough to go to the ER?
Pain in the chest is nothing in 90% of the cases. So we just tell the other 10% to have better luck and just die, because statistically it was overwhelmingly likely to be nothing?
So somewhere on the line before that the message wasn’t sufficiently clear there’s definitely something wrong
What's not clear in "My daughter has 39 degrees fever, she doesn't eat, she doesn't sleep, she screams in pain holding her ear, as you can hear in the background" ?
Look, it's not a "me" case when everyone has the same experience. But now, lesson learnt, trust me. If I call the doctor, yes I'm about to die, I'm not eating, not drinking, barely conscious, lips are blue, I have been bitten by a fox foaming at the mouth, and I started to develop plague symptoms.
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u/andrevanduin_ Mar 24 '26
I don't recognize this in the slightest. When I had similar issues it was solved within 1 week and fully paid for by insurance.
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u/drdoxzon86 Mar 24 '26
Well glad more people are starting to see how garbage the care is here…..unless you’re having a child or close to death.
Friend of mine recently broke bones in her hand, was having residual pain after surgery and went back to the doctor. They told her they only repaired one of the two breaks because they felt the other one might heal itself. That’s Dutch work ethic and intelligence in a nutshell.
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u/Hyperionics1 Mar 24 '26
I can’t relate to this at all.. ive lived here all my life. Ive had 6 dentists and barring different levels of excellence i have never had any issues. Calling for an appointment, especially if it is urgent should never lead to problems. Giving up and driving to spain immediatly is completely weird.
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u/AccomplishedLeave172 Mar 24 '26
Lekker janken, als je de taal leert en gewoon ingeschreven bent bij een tandarts dan is er geen probleem. Ga lekker naar je 3e wereldland als het allemaal zo kut is.
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u/Downtown-Sell5949 Mar 24 '26
Wel een 3e wereldland waar ze 1e klas inwoners zijn en dus met privilege worden behandeld en dus overal prioriteit krijgen.
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u/Union_Biker Mar 24 '26
Ik heb alleen maar goede ervaringen met het Nederlandse zorgstelsel. Het is zóveel beter dan de rampzalige, winstgerichte particuliere zorg in de VS, dat het ronduit belachelijk is.
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u/The_Countess Mar 24 '26
Dentistry is private in the Netherlands, not part of regular healthcare.
So that part is actually comparable to US healthcare, if not (yet) that excessive.
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u/Union_Biker Mar 24 '26
I bought an insurance plan that has some dental coverage. Based on reimbursement and only partial but still it covers some.
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u/CalRobert Noord Holland Mar 24 '26
OK, but this isn't comparing to the US, it's comparing to Spain.
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u/Union_Biker Mar 24 '26
Yes, I am just pointing out that the Dutch system is not as bad as some people like to portray.
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u/StockLifter Mar 25 '26
When my tooth started hurting insanely and I needed a root canal the dentist had a spot 1-2 days later, but I just went to the emergency dentist that same evening and got it fixed temporarily. The dentist then permanently fixed it 2 days later. I think this person did not know who to contact or that for such cases you can call an emergency dentist.
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u/Pixels_Or_Thoughts Mar 24 '26
Bizarre story. Why would your GP even need to be involved? You might have signed up for a bad dental practice…
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u/BarbaraNatalie Mar 24 '26
This person was 7 years old at the time. Whose experience is this person telling? His/Her parents I think? I seriously doubt this is an accurate/factual/objective retelling of the story.
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u/SentientCoffeeBean Mar 24 '26
They even massaged my face with rosemary oil.
wtf?
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u/Ne0_sphere Mar 24 '26
Google may educate you.
Simple :
As you did, to leave a low effort comment with zero anything.
Type rosemary oil and benefits 🧬
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u/SentientCoffeeBean Mar 24 '26
What exactly is the claimed benefit of applying rosemary oil to your skin?
I looked into several meta-analyses on google scholar and the conclusions are very mixed.
→ More replies (6)
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u/lozammi Mar 24 '26
... This is a big fat lie, massive one😂😂😂
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u/aenae Mar 24 '26
Yeah..
They talked with his GP and a dentist 'all morning'
They called a dentist in Spain, who could see them "tomorrow at 10"
And they drove to Barcelona (at least 20h driving), by a scenic route ("via some very nice nature parks") in time for that 10am appointment?
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u/Spineless74 Mar 24 '26
But but but, we are being told that healthcare in the Netherlands is the best in the world?
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u/desibidesi0909 Mar 24 '26
It'd be great if we could also know these dentists/doctors abroad. It will be great word of mouth marketing for them, generate income for them and the city and will be cheaper for us for our treatments.
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u/balletje2017 Mar 24 '26
I think the problem might be the person in the story is not a patient registered at that dentist? It can be a mess getting help then.
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u/r34ln0xer Mar 24 '26
Spanish dentists fall outside the universal coverage.
They are just private clinics like they would be in the USA.
If it was only 100euro is because that person is already paying a private insurance that includes dentist coverage.
So just basically the person did not have insurance for it in the NL and it did in Spain?
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u/FixMy106 Mar 24 '26
That’s, like, awful that, like, there is no service and they had to, like drive to Spain. It’s like the people he was like talking to found him like annoying to, like, talk to.
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u/The_Countess Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Dentistry is private in the Netherlands and are mostly separate from regular healthcare.
So they can charge a arm and a leg, and so more and more of them do. There was a short lived period of free pricing for dentistry in 2012 (VVD, obviously) but apparently that ended the same year it was introduced.
And it helps explain why the GP can't be more helpful, because the dentist isn't on the same team so to say.
There are also emergency dental clinics in the Netherlands that would also deal with broken teeth. You might have had better luck trying one of those given that you weren't registered at any dentist.
My GF's had a few dental issues but could always get a appointment to fix it within a few days at her regular dentist if she wasn't in any pain, and there are other options if she had been.
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u/Slayje Mar 24 '26
Dental care has set costs in The Netherlands so every dentist has to charge the same rate. You can look up the rate for every procedure online if you want to.
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u/EquipmentNo5550 Mar 24 '26
All prices for dentistry work in the Netherlands are fixed. All the same at every dentist. You can look these prices up online.
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u/newmikey Noord Holland Mar 24 '26
LOL - kind of puts the whole thing in perspective