The rise in post-academic specialization by general dental practitioners in the Netherlands has turned out to be a powerful force in the research into several subfields, in the participation of dentists in post-academic dental education and in the expansion of the range of health care. Dentists have incorporated those developments in their professional practice and refer patients to colleagues with dental specialties, as necessary. The changes in the demand for dental care due to expanding treatment methods do, however, require adaptations of the regular academic dentistry curriculum. Several postacademic specialties should become part and parcel of the regular curriculum. This is all the more relevant in the light of the aspirations of Dutch administration to come to a new allocation of tasks within dental care. Without such adaptations, post-academic specialization and reshuffling of tasks would lead to the erosion of the dental profession. An advisory report called ‘Innovations in Oral Care’ will be submitted to the Dutch government in the near future. Aspirations to enrich the dental profession should take into account the various ways in which current and future dentists wish to to practice their profession.

In support of its quality policy, the Dutch Dental Association (NMT) has undertaken a survey to examine dentists’ views on continuing education, accreditation, and their postgraduate course attendance. In December 2004 a written questionnaire was sent to a sample of 710 dentists, of whom 504 (71%) responded. The data were analysed using SPSS. Most dentists (93%) attended one or more courses since January 2003. They tend to concentrate on a few subjects, mainly on clinical procedures. About half (45%) of the respondents are in favour of continuing education accreditation for dentists. Compared to opponents, supporters are more positive about continuing education in general and spend more time reading specialist literature. Furthermore, the greater part of dentists indicates that it is important to have some kind of quality mark for postgraduate courses.

The aim of the study was to compare sucrose solution and bananas on demineralizing potential in situ, and to address the question if fluoride toothpaste is equally effective in preventing dentin demineralization at open, smooth surfaces and at plaque stagnation sites (grooves). Four volunteers wore an appliance containing bovine dentin specimens with narrow grooves and a smooth surface for two 1-week in situ periods, with 8 1-minute exposures daily: either by a rinse with 10% sucrose, or by consumption of a piece of banana. Twice daily, the appliance was dipped in toothpaste slurry of a fluoride-free toothpaste at one side and a fluoride toothpaste at the contralateral side. Demineralization was assessed by tranversal microradiography. No difference in dentin demineralization was found after frequent exposure to either sucrose solution or bananas. Fluoride toothpaste effectively protected dentin only at the smooth surfaces. In the grooves, fluoride affected the demineralization pattern; it drove lesions towards the bottom of the groove.

There are indications of a growing public interest in aesthetic dental treatments. For want of reliable data, a group of 907 randomly selected Dutch individuals was questioned in order to give this apparent tendency a foundation in figures. The results of this study show that about 25% of the respondents received aesthetic dental treatment at some time, about 8% was treated during the past year, and almost 8% intended to undergo aesthetic dental treatment in the coming year. In this respect, tooth whitening was found to be themost popular treatment. The results of this study suggest that there is a positive attitude towards aesthetic dentistry and that women take a greater interest in it than men. Whether this interest will lead to a rise in the number of actual aesthetic dental treatments is still unclear.

Full crowns with short posts or deficient ferrules show a high failure incidence. The influence of fatigue loading on the cement layer between the root canal dentin and short glass and fiber posts in resin composite core restorations was investigated.Two adhesive resin composite cements, Panavia 21 and RelyX-ARC, and one resin-modified glass-ionomer cement, RelyX, were used. Posts (6mm length) and core restorations were made on single-rooted premolars from which the coronal sections had been removed at the level of the proximal cementoenamel junction. Following cementing the posts core build-ups were made, using adhesive (Clearfil Photo Bond) and light-cured composite (Clearfil Photo Core). Half of the specimen (n = 8) were exposed to fatigue loading (106 load cycles) almost perpendicular to the axial axis (85°). Three parallel, transverse, root sections of 1.5 mm thickness and 6 mm length were cut from each specimen.The push-out test showed no significantd ifference between the retention strength of the posts in either the fatigue or the control group. For both the push-out strength and SEM evaluation of cement layer integrity the results improved from RelyX to RelyX ARC to Panavia 21, and also from apical to coronal.

In the education of endodontics at the Subfaculty of Dentistry in Groningen mechanical cleaning of the root canal was supported by the use of medicaments containing formaldehyde, to fixate and eliminate inaccessable organic material. This thesis comprises a comparative study of the effects of formaldehyde and of glutardialdehyde on dentine and periapical tissue. Glutardialdehyde proved to be non-irritant and advantageous in fixation, mechanical cleaning and closing off the root canal. The thesis was followed-up on by research on the inhibiting properties of glutardialdehyde on dentine.

For several days a patient suffered from difficult to diagnose mandibular oral pain. The patient complained of pain and swelling for which no obvious explanation could be found. Eventually the cause became clear, as a second premolar with a mesial and distal root was found to have been affected by periodontal inflammation at the root furcation.

The Dutch Association of Dental Hygienists is the professional association of all dental hygienists in the Netherlands. Its website supplies information on the associations services, the Dutch Journal of Oral Hygiene, meetings, and products to order. In addition, the website is a source of information for oral hygiene patients.