Adventures on Trains

On this map Praha=Prague

Today I had my first adventure in Czech Republic by train. I took the train from Prostejov to Prague for a meeting with the office manager at American Dental. I learned everything an Ex-Pat needs to know about relicensing in the Czech Republic but I'll save all of that fun for another post.

Entering the Hlavni nadrazi, Prague train station.

Even using the WC aka restroom in Europe isn't free. In Prague it costs 10 Crowns and there is literally no access if you don't have, I tried to photograph the 'fool proof pay me' system above.

From Prostejov/Olomouc to Prague is a 2 hr 45 min train ride. A round trip ticket cost 600Kc which is about 35 US dollars. It's a beautiful time of year for a long train ride through central European country side. I took a lot of pictures to hopefully give you a feel for train stations and country side here. The train stations start out extremely basic representing what you may stereotypically expect for this part of the world. They become progressively more well maintained and renovated as the train approaches Prague. It was a super smooth trip and much like Slovakia, getting around by train is my preferred mode of transportation.

The following three photos are taken at the Olomouc train station, a much less glamorous local than that in Pardubice and Prague.

Prostejov, Czech Republic

Hello everyone, I'm back after a nice summer hiatus. Denver, friends, family, and work were all awesome. I was sad to leave but at the same time excited for a new country and a new adventure.

Yemi and I are living in Prostejov this season. I arrived at the beginning of this week to a basketball season already in full swing! On Wednesday Yemi's team, Prostejov Eagles, had their final qualifying game against Slovenia to join the EuroChallenge. The Eagles won by a landslide through a great team effort. Even this early in the season the whole team plays so well together. I am glad I made it in time to see their first home game. Yemi had 14 and 14, 4 blocks and 3 steals. If you check out the stats he is Bertengeh Gadri, yeah we need to talk to them about that...

Our flat(apartment) is great. I uploaded a video tour of our place. Minus the lack of any closets I am more than happy with our new place. Oh and the windows are crazy dirty but don't be too hard on me I'd like to see you find Windex at this grocery store!

I am currently working on re-licensing here in Czech Republic but so far it seems to be a some what convoluted process. I will keep you posted.

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.