Free treatment at university dental clinics is drawing patients away from private dentists, the Cyprus Orthodontic Society told parliament’s Health Committee on Thursday, urging a rethink of the policy on new dental schools. It also questioned whether there would be enough clinical cases to train a growing number of students.
The society receives calls from dentists in Nicosia complaining that they are losing patients to the university clinics, its representatives told the committee.
They said the clinics created unequal competition when people who could afford private treatment also used them. Because of their educational role, the committee heard, university-run clinics operate under a different financial and operational framework from private practices. The society called for clear socioeconomic criteria for selecting patients, so that priority would go to those who cannot afford dental care.
The clinics should keep their educational and social character, complementing private practices rather than replacing them, its representatives said.
In a written memorandum, the society said an uncontrolled influx of patients to the clinics may weaken the private sector, which invests in infrastructure, technology and continuing professional development. Its representatives warned that this could, in the long term, also affect the availability of specialised dental services.
Training and jobs
The continued growth in the number of dental schools in a country which, the society said, has no more than 1.2 million people raised serious questions about how dental education was planned, its representatives said.
While acknowledging that the expansion of university education was a positive development, they said the country’s needs and graduates’ job prospects must be taken into account. Young dentists were struggling to attract enough patients, making it harder to set up and run a private practice, they said.
The quality of clinical training was also raised at the committee, since more students need more cases on which to practise. The society said an uncontrolled rise in student numbers may harm the quality of education, as clinical cases, which are essential for training future dentists and orthodontists, are limited.
It called for the policy on new dental schools to be reviewed on the basis of evidence on the country’s needs, the number of professionals and the capacity for clinical training.
