On this page
What is in the 2026-2027 agreement?
The agreement works within a budget of €1.72 billion for dental care in 2026. These are the measures a practice notices first.
- All fees indexed by 2.72% on 1 January 2026.
- The annual oral exam raised from €78.58 to €82, applied from 1 June 2026; from age 18 it includes the DPSI periodontal screening.
- A second intra-oral X-ray paid at the same fee as the first, since 1 January 2026.
- Removable dentures with 1 to 7 teeth revalued, since 1 January 2026.
- The continuity rule for scaling abolished.
- New maximum tariffs for orthodontics, and for fillings and build-ups from age 19: €10 for one surface, €15 for two or three surfaces.
- The agreement provides that a panoramic X-ray from age 19 is reimbursed every three years instead of every two, with a limited target group keeping the old rule.
- Reading the patient’s identity at every electronic third-party billing, compulsory since 1 October 2026.
What does conventioned mean for the dentist and the patient?
A conventioned dentist charges the agreement fees for consultations and acts in the nomenclature. They may exceed them only when the patient makes special demands, such as a time or place with no medical need, or by charging the agreement’s maximum tariffs with informed consent. Acts outside the nomenclature are not supplements.
A non-conventioned dentist may depart from the official tariffs, within two limits: since 1 July 2026, no supplements for patients with increased reimbursement on any reimbursable act, and no supplements when applying third-party payment. The patient’s reimbursement is the same either way: the minus-25% rule does not apply to dentists.
| Act, age 19 and over | Fee | Reimbursement | Patient’s share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consultation with a general dentist | €31.84 | €25.84 | €6.00 |
| Annual oral exam | €82.00 | €78.00 | €4.00 |
| Filling, two surfaces | €59.58 | €50.08 | €9.50 |
| First intra-oral X-ray | €15.92 | €12.42 | €3.50 |
What is a partial convention?
A dentist can join for part of their activity, in one of two ways. Of the 7,248 dentists who joined, 1,359 did so partially. During hours under the agreement its fees and maximum tariffs apply; outside them supplements are allowed, except for patients with increased reimbursement.
- At least 20 hours a week under the agreement, in blocks of at least two consecutive hours, stating where.
- Or half of the total activity, with a minimum of 8 hours, stating the hours and places of the whole activity.
- Hours and places are registered in the ProSanté/ProGezondheid portal and apply from the moment they are communicated.
SourceNational agreement dentists-sickness funds 2026-2027, section 5.2.1 (in Dutch)
How much is the social premium for conventioned dentists?
For premium year 2026 the social status premium is €4,592.21, paid in 2027. For 2025 it was €3,860.98. The rise is funded by abolishing the telematics premium. A partially conventioned dentist receives the same amount as a fully conventioned one.
The conditions: joined for the whole premium year, except the year the RIZIV-INAMI number was granted; recognised as a general dentist or specialist; and at least 300 billed acts, unless you have had your number for less than five years. For the social benefit, an insurance or pension contract must be signed by 31 December of the premium year. The request goes through ProSanté/ProGezondheid. Dentists who joined in the six districts without an agreement keep the right to the premium.
Where does the agreement not apply?
An agreement lapses in a district when more than half of its dentists refuse it. That happened in six districts, down from eleven in 2024. There the agreement fees are not binding, except for dentists who joined. The ban on supplements for increased reimbursement and the duty to display your status and fees still apply, and the patient’s reimbursement does not change.
Uptake province by province, from 81.6% in Liège to 41.6% in the province of Antwerp, is in dentists by province.
| District | Share of dentists who refused |
|---|---|
| Mechelen | 61.7% |
| Antwerp | 58.6% |
| Roeselare | 55.9% |
| Turnhout | 55.1% |
| Sint-Niklaas | 54.6% |
| Neufchâteau | 52.5% |
Can a dentist still join or change status?
Refusing or joining partially was possible until 11 March 2026, thirty days after publication. Anyone who did nothing joined in full. After that deadline other rules apply, in the ProSanté/ProGezondheid portal.
- A dentist who refused can join at any time, fully or partially, from the date of registration or a later date.
- A dentist who joined fully can move to a partial convention or refuse only before 15 December, effective 1 January.
- A dentist who joined partially can join fully at any time, and change their hours whenever they like.
What must a practice display to patients?
Since 1 March 2024 the official RIZIV-INAMI poster must hang in the waiting room, with your status, the hours inside and outside the agreement, and the fees of the most common acts. If your practice has a website or an online profile, the RIZIV-INAMI FAQ says the poster must also be shown there, on top of the one in the waiting room. A dentist who does not tell patients in advance about hours outside the agreement may not charge more than the nomenclature fees during those hours.
Patients check a dentist’s status in Health PRO, the search engine of RIZIV-INAMI and the federal health ministry.
SourceRIZIV-INAMI, FAQ on displaying fees (in French); health insurance law of 14 July 1994, article 73 §1
Is third-party payment compulsory for dentists?
No. Since 2022 a dentist may apply third-party payment to every act, at any age, but it is compulsory only for difficult restorations in cancer patients and in anodontia. A dentist who applies it charges the agreement tariffs, without supplements, and bills through eFact.
Since 1 October 2026 the patient’s identity must be read at every contact when third-party payment is applied electronically; errors can get the invoice rejected. What that changes at the front desk is in patient ID checks for third-party payment.
What do the professional bodies say?
The Flemish VVT signed the agreement and credits the higher uptake to the looser partial convention and the new maximum tariffs. The VBT did not sign, mainly because of the partial convention rules, and leaves the choice to each dentist. On the French-speaking side, the SMD and the CMD signed.
What does the agreement change on the practice phone?
Patients call with the same questions: are you conventioned, what does a check-up cost, what do I pay myself, and with increased reimbursement? An AI dental receptionist answers them with what the practice has written down: each dentist’s status, the hours under the agreement for a partial convention, and the fees you give it. It never quotes an amount you did not give it.
Questions practices ask
Since when has the Belgian dental fee agreement 2026-2027 applied?
It covers 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 and was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 9 February 2026. On 19 March 2026 the National Commission found that 60.48% of dentists had joined, so it has applied since March 2026, except in the districts of Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout, Roeselare, Sint-Niklaas and Neufchâteau.
How many Belgian dentists are conventioned?
According to RIZIV-INAMI, 7,248 of 11,984 dentists joined, 60.48%, of whom 1,359 partially. In 2024 the share was 56.97%.
Is a patient reimbursed less at a non-conventioned dentist?
No. The health insurer reimburses the same amount; any supplement is paid by the patient. The rule that cuts reimbursement by 25% at non-conventioned providers does not apply to dentists, according to RIZIV-INAMI.
May a dentist charge supplements to patients with increased reimbursement?
No. Since 1 July 2026 no dentist, conventioned or not, may charge a supplement for a reimbursable dental act to a patient with increased reimbursement. The agreement’s maximum tariffs do not count as supplements.
How can I check whether a dentist is conventioned?
In Health PRO, the search engine of RIZIV-INAMI and the federal health ministry, where each profile shows the convention status. The practice also displays the official poster in its waiting room, and online too if it has a website or online profile.