[Post-academic dental specialties 1. Their increase and future].

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 post-academic 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.