For candidates
BIG registration in dental care.
Without entry in the BIG register, nobody may work independently as a dentist in the Netherlands. This is how you get the registration, how you keep it — and this is the route if your qualification comes from abroad.
What the BIG register is, and who it is for.
The BIG register is the statutory Dutch register of healthcare professionals. For dentists, entry is compulsory in order to practise the profession independently; anyone can look up free of charge online whether a clinician is registered. Orthodontists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons are additionally listed in a separate specialist register of the Registratiecommissie Tandheelkundige Specialismen, the Dutch registration committee for dental specialisms.
For dental hygienists it works differently: dental hygienist is a legally protected professional title, but carries no compulsory BIG registration as it does for dentists. In recent years an experiment ran in which registered dental hygienists were temporarily given independent competences; what the final outcome will be is up to politics. Check the current position with the BIG register or your professional association. The voluntary KRM quality register is separate from this — more about it on the continuing education page.
Getting it, then keeping it.
Register
With a Dutch dentistry degree you apply for registration with the BIG register. Arrange this straight after graduating — without entry you may not work at the chair independently.
Re-register every five years
The registration is not a diploma for life: every five years you demonstrate that you have kept practising the profession. The register sends a notice, but the responsibility sits with you.
Meet the hours requirement
The work-experience requirement is currently 2.080 hours in five years — on average around eight hours a week within your field of expertise. If you don’t meet it, there is a training route as an alternative.
The hours count in salaried employment and as a self-employed professional alike — your contract form makes no difference to the hours requirement. What to watch: anyone working less for a while, part-time, between two jobs or during parenthood, does well to track the hours in good time instead of waiting for the register’s notice. We are happy to think that through with you too if you work through us.
A foreign qualification: two routes.
Both routes share the same gatekeeper: learn Dutch first, register afterwards. The language requirement is B2+ — B2, plus demonstrable competence in interactive medical Dutch, the conversation at the chair.
A qualification from the EU or EEA
Recognition and BIG registration are handled in a single procedure, with a lead time of usually around three months. The real work is the language: you can only register once the language requirement is met.
A qualification from outside the EEA
A longer route in a fixed order: qualification verification, then language certificates (Dutch B2+ and English B2), and only then the professional competence test. Count on many months to years.
Specialists
An orthodontist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon with a foreign qualification additionally needs recognition from the Registratiecommissie Tandheelkundige Specialismen and entry in the specialist register.
How practices look at this and which planning mistakes to avoid is in Hiring a dentist from abroad. Working on this route yourself? We guide it during placements — from the first BIG check to a start date the procedure will actually meet.
BIG and your contract form.
The registration is yours, not your employer’s — it doesn’t change when you switch from salaried employment to self-employment or the other way round. What does change: as a self-employed professional you take on obligations that sat with the practice in salaried employment, such as the Wkkgz complaints scheme and your insurance. And anyone scaling down clinical work to run a business keeps an eye on the hours requirement. The full decision is in the guide to self-employment or salaried employment.
Honestly: the recognition itself is not ours to decide — that is up to the BIG register and the committees. What we do: look along with you at where you stand, and prevent you signing a contract with a start date the procedure will never meet.
Frequently asked questions.
How often do I have to renew my BIG registration?
Every five years. The BIG register notifies you in advance, but the responsibility sits with you — anyone who is late is removed from the register and may no longer work independently as a dentist.
How many hours do I have to work for my re-registration?
The work-experience requirement is currently 2.080 hours in five years — on average around eight hours a week. The hours count in salaried employment and as a self-employed professional alike; it concerns work within your profession’s field of expertise.
What if I don’t meet the hours requirement?
Then you can still achieve re-registration through a training route that ends with a recognised certificate. Anyone working less for a while — parenthood, illness, a sabbatical — does well to track the hours in good time and not wait for the register’s notice.
Does BIG registration also apply to dental hygienists?
Dental hygienist is a legally protected professional title, but carries no compulsory BIG registration as it does for dentists. In recent years an experiment ran in which registered dental hygienists were temporarily given independent competences; what the final outcome will be is up to politics. Check the current position with the BIG register or your professional association.
I trained outside the EU. How long does the procedure take?
Count on many months to years. The route runs in a fixed order: qualification verification, language certificates (Dutch at B2+ and English at B2) and only then the professional competence test. With a qualification from the EU or EEA it is quicker: recognition and registration in a single procedure, usually within around three months — but even then only once the language requirement is met. More context is in this article.
Registered and ready for the next step?
Create your anonymous profile. We put your situation next to what practices are paying right now — and your name stays with us until you say yes.