Almost half of the dentists who started work in Belgium last year were of foreign origin, with 34% who obtained their diplomas in another European country.
The number of foreign nationals among the new dentists has increased sharply, Het Belang Van Limburg reported on Thursday. Last year, 313 novice dentists applied for a RIZIV number, which is necessary for their recognition and reimbursement.
Of those, 56% came from Belgium; in 2020, the figure was 66%. The proportion of Belgian diplomas also dropped from 78% in 2020 to 66% last year.
Of those who are not from Belgium, the largest group were from France (9%), with Tunisians (6%), Germans (4%) and Dutch (4%) following behind. What Het Belang Van Limburg found notable was that many of the Tunisian nationals obtained their diplomas in Romania. According to Frank Herrebout, president of the Flemish Professional Association of Dentists, this has occurred since France introduced an internship year for foreign dentists.
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Flemish nationalist MP Frieda Gijbels (N-VA), who is also a periodontist, finds it "incomprehensible" that dentists of foreign nationality studying in Europe get a RIZIV number without restriction, while in Belgium there is a quota for training.
"Other European countries have built-in extra thresholds against foreign intake," she said, giving the example of the Netherlands having a compulsory language exam for dentists.
While Belgium does, in theory, have a language requirement for dentists, it is "not checked", according to Gijbels. "There is certainly no check on medical communication skills."
