The Order of Dentists (OMD) warned this Friday of the increase in the number of illegal professionals in the National Health Service and in the social sector, where only 4.1% of dentists practice in hospitals or health centers.
The data is part of the OMD study “Diagnosis for the profession 2024”, which surveyed 3,036 dentists and concluded that, of the 4.1% of professionals who work in hospitals or health centers in the public or social sector, more than one a third (35.2%) are integrated as Senior Technicians of the General Regime, a career not specific to the execution of medical acts.
“This value represents an increase of 6 percentage points compared to the previous ‘Profession Diagnosis 2022’, which aims to reveal the main indicators of dentistry activity in Portugal,” the OMD states in a statement.
The study also allows us to conclude that 43.5% are contracted under a green receipt system (22.3% directly with the Regional Health Administration and 21.3% through an intermediary company).
“Despite our warnings in recent years, successive governments pretend that this reality does not exist. The solution to this problem only depends on the political will to create a career in dentistry in the NHS“argues the president of the OMD, quoted in the statement.
Miguel Pavão believes that this increase is a temporary solution, to put into operation the more than 30 offices that were unemployed in the health centers.
“The lack of this career interferes, among many other factors, with the Government’s ability to attract dentists to primary health care dentistry practices, and with the ability to prevent highly qualified professionals from going abroad,” he warns. the president.
The study data also points to an increase in the number of professionals working abroad (8.2% in 2024), of which 2.5% also work in Portugal and 5.7% exclusively abroad.
In the last study, from 2022, 6.6% of nurses worked outside the country, of which 1.7% worked in Portugal and 4.9% only abroad.
Regarding the moment of making the decision to practice abroad, almost two thirds (64.6%) responded that it was after having worked in Portugal, an increase of 8.4 percentage points compared to 2022.
Among doctors who work exclusively abroad, more than half (53.6%) say they have no intention of practicing in Portugal again.
Regarding the reasons for emigrating, dentists are clear: 65.4% were unable to obtain a satisfactory income in Portugal; 57.1% believe that the profession is not valued in Portugal.
Among those practicing abroad, 37.5% do so in France, 12.9% in the United Kingdom and 7.9% in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Called to reveal the biggest concerns in the current panorama of the profession, almost two thirds (64.3%) of those surveyed refer to the fact that Dentistry is not recognized as a profession that wears out quickly.
The main concerns also include the growth of insurance and health plans (56.6%) and the increase in the number of dentists with salaries below expectations (54.8%) in relation to their qualifications, says the OMD.
According to the study, 70.1% of those surveyed took between one and six months to join the labor market, and 61.1% work in clinics or outside offices.
Per week, 82.7% serve more than 25 users. On average, they serve 48 users.
Other conclusions indicate that 17% of dentists practicing in Portugal obtain a gross monthly income of less than 1,500 euros, the same occurs with 1.2% of professionals practicing abroad.
Source: Observadora
