THE Dentistry in Spain faces a critical situation that affects both working professionals and young graduates who wish to enter the job market. Increasing the educational offeradded to the low quality of employment and The increase in unemployment in the sector has generated a difficult working environmentpushing many professionals to seek opportunities abroad.
According to data from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, for the 2024/25 academic year, Spanish universities will offer a total of 2,742 places for the Dental degree, 2.2% more than last year. This increase, although slight, is mainly concentrated in the 14 private universities that hold this degree, which offer 55 additional places, reaching a total of 1,862 places, compared to 880 places in the 13 public universities.
“This continued growth in training provision does not correspond to a similar demand in the labour market, which is leading to saturation in the sector,” explained Dr. Óscar Castro, president of the General Council of Dentists, who emphasises how the lack of employment opportunities and precarious working conditions for young graduates have increased unemployment and job dissatisfaction.
“Many young dentists find themselves without clear options in the country, with temporary contracts, low salaries and fierce competition. due to the few jobs available, almost all in the private sector, as there are almost no places offered in the public health sector despite the government’s Oral Health Plan,” he explained.
Faced with this panorama, more and more dentists are deciding to emigrate in search of better opportunities. From 2018 to December 2022, the General Council of Dentists issued around 3,800 certificates of good conduct, an essential requirement to be able to practice abroad. These certificates were mainly requested to work in countries such as France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
The number of certificates issued is constantly increasing: 774 in 2020, 895 in 2021 and 939 in 2022, which demonstrates a clear trend towards emigration as a solution to the lack of opportunities in Spain.
However, The number of licensed dentists continues to grow. According to the latest available data from the National Institute of Statistics, dating from 2023, in In Spain there are 42,075 registered dentists. To put this figure into perspective, we only need to look back: there are 9,630 more professionals than ten years ago (2013), an increase of 29.7%, and 24,537 more than in 2000 (an increase of 139.9%), when 17,538 professionals were registered.
For the president of the General Council of Dentists of Spain, “the current situation of Spanish dentistry requires in-depth reflection on the part of the authorities and we have been warning of this for a long time, especially if we take into account that Spain is one of the EU countries with the lowest demand for care.”
Dr. Castro believes that increasing the supply of university places must be accompanied by a strategy that guarantees the professional integration of graduates, avoiding market saturation and guaranteeing decent working conditions. “Otherwise, we will continue to lose qualified talent, who will choose to develop their professional careers in other countries, and we will be vulnerable to problems as critical as misleading advertising or price wars with a subject as serious as health,” he concluded.
