Yes, dental coverage in NL kind of sucks. The way it is structured now, it often makes more sense to make a "dental savings" account rather than paying the insurance surcharge.

There is action to change that though. Doctors of the World currently run a petition for including dental insurance in the basic insurance package (basispakket) [1]. I don't see this happening soon, but it's a start for a future change.

[1] https://doktersvandewereld.org/campagnes/mondzorg-in-het-bas...