QUALITY ASSURANCE IN DENTISTRY - THE DUTCH APPROACH

Purpose. To describe the definition of duality, as used in the Dutch l iterature, acid to discuss the policy concerning quality assurance of dental care of both the Dutch government and the Dutch Dental Associat ion. Data source. Study of relevant literature. Results. Quality is de scribed as the degree to which the entire set of characteristics of a product, process or service satisfies established or obvious needs. Wi th respect to quality assurance, the government merely tends to frame the setting, through legislation and stimulation, whereas the professi onal organization supports the responsibility of individual dentists b y developing a quality assurance system and by; delivering tools for q uality assessment. Possible activities within such a quality assurance system are continuing education, peer review, the use of practice gui delines and horizontal referral. Conclusion. In Dutch dentistry a star t has been made with the development of a quality assurance policy, wh ich is aimed at the improvement of oral health and the increase of pat ient satisfaction. However, further research should still be focused o n quality of dental care and its assessment in practice.