Prague, Nov 15 (CTK) – Ukrainians make up for the lack of dentists in the Czech Republic where one in ten is a Ukrainian now, however, many of them have not passed the necessary qualification and language exams, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday.
Out of 8,239 dentists in the the Czech Republic with a population of 10.5 million, 308 Ukrainian ones have the required qualification and another 539 are yet to pass the “approbation” exam, MfD says.
The Czech Dentist’ Chamber points out the problem of Ukrainian dentists working without the required qualification.
Such a dentist should only work under the supervision of a fully qualified colleague, which is not always the case, Jiri Prokopec, spokesman for a local branch of the Dentists’ Chamber said.
Moreover, foreign dentists can repeat the exam, consisting of a professional, stomatological, part and an oral Czech language exam, as many times as they want, while Czech students of medicine have only three attempts, MfD writes.
It says a crushing majority of Ukrainian dentists fail the oral exam in Czech which is needed for a detailed communication with patients, but many of them also have shortcomings in professional skills, such as the knowledge of anatomy and new dental materials and treatment methods, according to the data of the Institute for Post-Graduate Education (IPVZ), its director Antonin Malina told MfD.
Only 7 percent of Ukrainian dentists passed the oral Czech language exam and 66 percent proved sufficient professional skills in the first half of this year, the IPVZ says.
Ukrainian dentists question the demands, saying an exam in Czech shows nothing about a dentist’s real qualification.
“I know doctors with a 20-year practice who are professionally on a high level, but they have not passed an exam in Czech. Why shouldn’t they work?” Ukrainian dentist Dmitrii Tkalych, who works in Prague and has all necessary certificates, told MfD.
The Czech Dentists’ Chamber calls on patients to ask dentists to present the required certificates if they are in doubt and if a dentist refuses to do so, they should decline the treatment, MfD says.
Ukrainian dentist Oleksandra Ivanishen, who has lived in Prague since 2012 and passed the exam three years ago, admits that the standard of dental care in Ukraine is lower than in the Czech Republic, especially in the countryside. However, the quality of dental care in Czech villages is also worse than in cities, she added.
She also said the tests Ukrainian dentists must pass in the Czech Republic are very difficult, especially the language part.
In the past, most foreign dentists or physicians in general came from Slovakia, but now Ukrainians prevail among them. They are motivated by considerably better financial and living conditions as well as an easier access to other European countries, MfD writes.
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