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What do the figures by province show?
Three gaps stand out. Age: in West Flanders and Limburg more than four in ten general dentists are 65 or older. Numbers per inhabitant: Walloon Brabant has nearly three times as many dentists per inhabitant as Hainaut. And the fee agreement: fewer than half of dentists signed it in the province of Antwerp, four in five in the province of Liège.
There is no official figure per municipality. The province is the finest grain the federal health ministry publishes, and the figures count dentists with the right to practise by where they live, not where they treat patients.
- Oldest dentists: West Flanders, 48.4% of general dentists aged 65 or older, then Limburg with 42.5%.
- Youngest dentists: Brussels, 24.4% aged 65 or older and 28.1% under 35.
- Most dentists per inhabitant: Walloon Brabant, 16.7 per 10,000, against 9.7 for Belgium.
- Fewest dentists per inhabitant: Hainaut, 6.0 per 10,000.
- 2026-2027 fee agreement: 81.6% signed in Liège, 41.6% in Antwerp, 60.5% across Belgium.
How many dentists does each province have?
On 31 December 2025, 11,521 dentists living in Belgium had the right to practise. The province of Antwerp has the most, Luxembourg the fewest. Per inhabitant, the gap between Walloon Brabant and Hainaut is close to threefold.
Read the per-inhabitant figure with care. It counts where dentists live, not where they work, and it includes people who stopped but kept the right to practise. A dentist who lives in Walloon Brabant and works in Brussels counts in Walloon Brabant. What it means for a practice in the capital is on the page about an AI receptionist for dental practices in Brussels.
| Province | Dentists on 31/12/2025 | Per 10,000 inhabitants |
|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 1,685 | 8.7 |
| Flemish Brabant | 1,572 | 13.0 |
| East Flanders | 1,476 | 9.2 |
| West Flanders | 1,145 | 9.3 |
| Limburg | 784 | 8.6 |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 1,529 | 12.2 |
| Hainaut | 821 | 6.0 |
| Liège | 1,218 | 10.8 |
| Walloon Brabant | 695 | 16.7 |
| Namur | 392 | 7.7 |
| Luxembourg | 204 | 6.9 |
| Belgium | 11,521 | 9.7 |
In which province are dentists oldest?
In West Flanders: 48.4% of general dentists are 65 or older, and only 12.6% are under 35. Limburg follows with 42.5%. Brussels is the youngest, with 24.4% over 65 and 28.1% under 35.
The annual report itself gives age and sex by region only. The split by province is in the Excel detail tables that come with it, and that is where these shares come from. We count general dentists only, the largest group, so that every province is measured on the same base.
Here too, the count is the right to practise. A 70-year-old who has stopped is still in it, so the 65-plus share is an upper bound on ageing, not a timetable of retirements. Where it is high, the practices that stay take over the patients of those that close, and the phone is where that shows first.
| Province | General dentists | 65 or older | Under 35 | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 1,518 | 36.6% | 16.9% | 51.7% |
| Flemish Brabant | 1,401 | 31.8% | 18.6% | 55.6% |
| East Flanders | 1,308 | 37.5% | 20.6% | 53.4% |
| West Flanders | 1,063 | 48.4% | 12.6% | 46.9% |
| Limburg | 722 | 42.5% | 13.3% | 49.3% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 1,362 | 24.4% | 28.1% | 51.1% |
| Hainaut | 772 | 37.4% | 13.7% | 47.8% |
| Liège | 1,098 | 36.7% | 21.5% | 48.3% |
| Walloon Brabant | 626 | 37.5% | 12.3% | 58.6% |
| Namur | 364 | 39.8% | 16.5% | 51.4% |
| Luxembourg | 192 | 38.0% | 19.8% | 51.0% |
| Belgium | 10,426 | 36.4% | 18.4% | 51.5% |
SourceFPS Public Health, HWF STATAN 2025, detail statistics (Excel, sheet Tandartsen), data on 31/12/2025
Where does the 2026-2027 fee agreement not apply?
The agreement between dentists and health insurers for 2026 and 2027 has applied since March 2026: on 19 March the National Commission found that 60.48% of dentists had joined. It does not apply in six districts where more than half of dentists refused it: Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout, Roeselare, Sint-Niklaas and Neufchâteau. Five are in Flanders, three in the province of Antwerp alone.
Province by province the gap is wide: 81.6% of dentists joined in Liège, 41.6% in Antwerp. For a patient that means a different price from one dentist to the next, and for the front desk a question that comes back every day: is the dentist conventioned? What the agreement itself says is in the Belgian dental fee agreement 2026-2027.
| Province | Dentists counted by RIZIV-INAMI | Joined | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 1,777 | 740 | 41.6% |
| Flemish Brabant | 1,283 | 707 | 55.1% |
| East Flanders | 1,448 | 763 | 52.7% |
| West Flanders | 1,025 | 567 | 55.3% |
| Limburg | 829 | 513 | 61.9% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 2,158 | 1,457 | 67.5% |
| Hainaut | 1,017 | 744 | 73.2% |
| Liège | 1,237 | 1,009 | 81.6% |
| Walloon Brabant | 576 | 331 | 57.5% |
| Namur | 402 | 268 | 66.7% |
| Luxembourg | 232 | 149 | 64.2% |
| Belgium | 11,984 | 7,248 | 60.5% |
What does it mean for a practice phone?
Where dentists are oldest, the practices that stay take over the patients of those that retire, and more people call than the front desk can take. Where the agreement does not apply, almost every new patient asks about the price first. Either way, the front desk spends its time on the same questions, again and again.
An AI dental receptionist answers those questions with what the practice itself has written down: whether it still takes new patients, whether the dentist is conventioned, who may join the waiting list. It books into the diary where the practice software allows a connection. The background to the shortage is in the dentist shortage in Belgium, and what practices say about new patients in our study of 230 practice websites.
How we measured it
Dentists per province come from table 77 of the FPS Public Health HWF annual statistics 2025. Age and sex by province come from the Excel detail tables of the same report (sheet Tandartsen), for recognised general dentists. Population is Statbel’s on 1 January 2026, the day after the dentist count. The fee agreement comes from the RIZIV-INAMI table by district of 12 March 2026.
All shares, per-10,000 figures and rankings are our own calculations on those tables, read on 13 and 14 October 2026. We publish no figure per municipality, because no official one exists.
Questions practices ask
How many dentists are there in each Belgian province?
On 31 December 2025: Antwerp 1,685, Flemish Brabant 1,572, East Flanders 1,476, West Flanders 1,145, Limburg 784, Brussels 1,529, Liège 1,218, Hainaut 821, Walloon Brabant 695, Namur 392 and Luxembourg 204. These are dentists with the right to practise by place of residence, from the FPS Public Health HWF annual statistics 2025.
In which Belgian province are dentists oldest?
West Flanders, where 48.4% of general dentists are 65 or older. Limburg follows with 42.5%. Brussels is the youngest with 24.4%. The Belgian average is 36.4%.
Where does the Belgian dental fee agreement not apply?
In the districts of Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout, Roeselare, Sint-Niklaas and Neufchâteau, where more than half of dentists refused the 2026-2027 agreement. Elsewhere it has applied since March 2026. Whether a given dentist is conventioned is a question for that practice.
Is there a figure per city?
No. The federal health ministry publishes dentists by region and province, not by municipality, and RIZIV-INAMI counts by district on a different base. There is no official count for Ghent, Liège or Bruges alone.