Dentistry in Slovakia

This is one of the operatories in my office.

A lot of my friends and family at home ask me about what it's like practicing dentistry here in Slovakia. I can really only address my personal experience because Slovakia is a country of extremes. I have been told there are big differences between health care in the western part vs the eastern and private vs public offices.

I work at Dental Studio 2001. It is a private office where patients pay out of pocket for all procedures. The day to day dentistry is exactly the same as in the states. All of the equipment in our office is state of the art. We use 'white' fillings. We have digital x-rays and charts. We offer cosmetic procedures such as tooth whitening and veneers. All of the sterilization is on par with that in the states. One difference is there are much fewer specialists than in Denver so a larger range of procedures are performed than most general offices in the states. The senior dentist in my office is an extremely skilled surgeon who has received a lot of post-doctorate training. He performs a lot of more advanced procedures like implant placement, sinus lifts, apicoectomies, wisdom teeth removal.

I have not had the opportunity to visit many offices in this country. One thing I will say is there seems to be very little regulation of health professions. There is no real tort law or recourse for patients who have received bad treatment. The general dental IQ may be a little lower in the general population as compared to other countries. I like to believe most dentists here act in good faith and to the best of their abilities but I have seen some patients who have suffered because of the lack of these type of systems.