Portuguese Dentists Flocking Abroad
Portuguese dentists are flocking abroad to work according to recent figures.
According to figures released by the Dental Society, more than 1,000 Portuguese dentists are working overseas, which represents around 10 per cent of the country’s dentists.
Speaking prior to the annual congress at the end of November, Orlando Monteiro da Silva, told a local news agency that the recession had taken its toll on dentists and many had decided to move overseas to secure a position and earn more money.
Mr Monteiro da Silva said that there were too many training facilities and in effect this was creating a situation in which there are too many dentists in comparison to the demand.
Most dentists who chose to emigrate for work made for the UK, Luxembourg, Scandinavia and France.
Mr da Silva said that dentists could not be lamed for deciding to leave Portugal because many have found it increasingly difficult to make a living, as more and more patients were putting off having treatment and earnings were falling.
Mr da Silva also added that Portugal is an excellent training centre for dentists and boasts high quality dental care and reasonable fees compared to other European nations.
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