Finding a dentist
Unfortunately dentists in Leuven can be hard to come by, meaning that it might take some time to find a dentist that is taking new clients. To find a list of all dentists in your neighbourhood, go to www.mijntandarts.be (Dutch only). Alternatively you can ask the community of expats to see if anyone knows of a dentist that is taking new clients.
Outside office hours you can find the dentist on call (tandarts van wacht) via https://w8post.be/en/other-eme... or call 0903 399 69 (EUR 1,5/min) or call 1733 if it's an emergency.
Good to knows
Basic dental care (yearly check-ups, fillings, cleanings) is included in the Belgian public mandatory health insurance system. Patients can therefore claim partial reimbursements for basic dental treatments. Contact your insurer first in case major dental work (crowns, bridges) is required, as you might need the approval of the insurer first. You pay the dentist first and then send the certificate of medical care (a green receipt) to your public health insurance fund for reimbursement. For children under 18, basic dental care is fully reimbursed by the public health insurance fund.
In the Belgian health care system there are agreements about the cost for health care. These agreements are made between health insurance funds and health care providers (doctors, dentists, physiologists, etc.).
- Dentists can choose if they follow the agreement or not.
- If they do, they follow the convention (in Dutch geconventioneerd). In that case your personal share (remgeld) will be minimal.
- If they do not follow the convention (niet-geconventioneerd), they can charge a higher fee which may not be covered by your insurer.
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Several health insurance funds have an online tool to check whether a dentist follows the convention or not. The dentist can also inform you about this.
Go at least once a year to your dentist for a routine check-up. If you do not do this your personal share in the cost of dental care will be up to 15% more expensive.
Helpful Dutch vocabulary
- tandarts = dentist
- niet-geconventioneerd = do not follow the convention
- geconventioneerd = they follow the convention
Other helpful links and resources