To get an impression of the claim-behaviour of patients of Dutch dentists, a qualitative survey was completed amongst eight out of the nine dental consultants of dental liability insurers in the Netherlands. After a literature-study and a test-interview, 11 questions were composed to get the information. It became apparent that the accused dentist is either the young, (too) enthousiastic dentist or the older one, who has lost interest in his job and follows no post academic education. Like in most western countries, according to literature, the most frequent topics patients complain about in the Netherlands are oral surgery, followed by fixed prosthetics, endodontology and recently periodontology. The main cause of the complaints is, according to the interviewed advisors, the lack of communication between the dentist and his patient. Moreover it became clear that dentists misuse their malpractice liability insurance as a second patient-insurance.

In this study oral health of elderly persons as perceived by the subjects was evaluated. Phenomena often mentioned were problems with chewing and biting, dry mouth, retention of food particles between teeth or below the prosthesis, (in dentates) sensitivity of teeth for warm or cold foods and (in edentates) lack of retention of the lower prosthesis. In a lot of persons these problems affect quality of life.

Hyperparathyroidism is a condition due to an elevated secretion of parathormone. Oral manifestations are caused by the disturbance of the calcium-phosphate equilibrium which results in pathologic changes of the bones. A patient with secondary hyperparathyrodism and severe maxillary and mandibular deformations is described.

This second article on schizophrenia deals with the etiology and the medication thereof. As the causes are only gradually becoming known, sharply defined drug therapies are nonextant. The present drug regimes are aimed at a rather general suppression of the effect of several neurotransmitters in large parts of the brain. Many drugs are available, but all with impairing or even dangerous side effects. Both the disease and the medication are of importance when schizophrenic patients seek a dentist´s help. Therefore dentists need to know about schizophrenia and the current therapies.

The editing board of the ´Dutch Journal of Dentistry´ started their digital distribution of the contents of the this dental magazine on CD-rom in 1998. In the meantime the Internet had developed itself into a mature medium for the exchange of information which gave plenty of reason to the NTvT to launch their own website. Over the past few years this website has developed prosperously. From the monthly 700 visitors in the first year, now every month approximately 2.500 visitors surf to this site. This issue will - without giving an exhausting list of facts and figures - review the last three years and carefully try to speculate on the future of the digital version of this magazine.