Future Scenarios on Dental Health Care

Which developments can be expected to take place in the dental health of the Dutch population in the decades to come, and what are the influential factors? What effects might the changing supply of dental professionals, the additional substitution of responsibilities from dentists to dental hygienists and the possible reforms in health care insurance have on the nation's oral status? These are some of the central questions discussed in this report by the Scenario Committee and the research group. For this purpose, the Committee developed a computer simulation model of dental health care which was used to analyze future scenarios. The future scenarios described in this report clearly show that a number of crucial decisions must be taken if dental health care is to remain accessible and available for all sections of the population in the future.