How much time do I have to perform a dental treatment in the Netherlands?

Are you curious about how much time you have to perform a given treatment in the Netherlands? Here is a lot with the most common dental treatments and how quickly you are generally expected to finish them in a Dutch clinic.

First appointment

The first appointment takes approximately 20 minutes.

The patient receives a health questionnaire in advance, with the request to fill it in so that the dentist can discuss it afterwards.

The dentist performs a general check-up and assesses how healthy the oral cavity is (teeth and soft tissues). If necessary the dentist takes an OPG and bitewings.

No treatments will take place during the first appointment.

Check-up (every 6 months or 1 year)

The periodic dental check usually takes 10 minutes.

In these 10 minutes the dentist will ask if there are any changes in the general health of the patient, checks the oral cavity (teeth and soft tissues), takes new bitewings or other x-rays if necessary and makes a treatment plan for the following appointments.

The dentist may also advise an appointment for a dental cleaning with the prevention assistant or with the dental hygienist.

Dental cleaning and eventual root scalling (done by the prevention assistant or dental hygienist)

This appointment usually takes 30 to 40 minutes, according to the severity of the problem.

Dental fillings

This varies from 15 minutes to 40 or even 50 minutes.

The duration depends on the size of the filling, the degree of difficulty of the treatment, the number of teeth that are filled and the dentist’s working speed.

Root canal treatments

A standard root canal treatment takes between 30 and 60 minutes.

In more complicated cases, this treatment may take longer (up to 2 hours). The duration of the treatment depends on the type of tooth, the severity of the damage and how many root canals are treated.