If you are a dentist educated abroad and want to obtain a license to practice in the United States, you should be aware that most states require a degree from a dental education program accredited by the Dental Accreditation Commission (CODA) of the American Dental Association. Here are the general steps that dentists trained abroad must follow to obtain a license to practice as a general dentist in the US. Alternatively, a UK dentist can apply for a subclass 494 visa sponsored by a regional employer, which allows them to work in the Australian region rather than in large cities, such as Sydney or Melbourne. The appeal of working abroad for a UK dentist is multifaceted and may have been influenced by the challenges of the past 18 months when trying to work during the pandemic.
The process for obtaining registration to practice in New Zealand for a dentist trained in the United Kingdom is relatively straightforward compared to most countries. Fox quickly summarizes the general outline for an international dentist in the US. Become a dentist trained in the United States. This is no longer the case and the arrangements are still changing, meaning that a dentist from the United Kingdom who wants to move to any state in the EU for work will have to follow a more complicated process than before Brexit.
This allows dentists trained abroad to participate in the second or third year of the conventional DDS program or in an independent two-year international program specifically for people moving to the US Department of State, allowing dentists to practice anywhere in the US. In some countries, such as New Zealand and Australia, UK dentists and their skills are still considered desirable additions to that country's workforce. In the meantime, dentists in the United Kingdom who want to work in the EU should study the different provisions of the country in which they are interested. A dentist from the United Kingdom who wishes to work in Canada must submit an application through the National Board of Dental Examination of Canada (NDEB).
The staff director of Bupa Dental Care, Julie Stephens, says that, in addition to the shortage of dentists in the United Kingdom for many years, the impact of Brexit and COVID-19 has further aggravated the magnitude of the shortage of qualified staff. Dentists should seek clarification from bodies equivalent to the General Council of Dentistry (GDC) of the United Kingdom in each individual country to find out if there are additional measures to be taken or not and if their qualification in the United Kingdom will be maintained. This means that any qualified UK dentist with a British passport can stay and work in Australia for a maximum period of four years. This does not include the US Department of State, where a dentist from the United Kingdom will have to do two or three additional years of training at an accredited dental school in the United States to obtain a doctorate in dental surgery (DDS).
Global travel restrictions caused by the pandemic have made short-term visas for UK dentists who wish to work in New Zealand unavailable, but permanent relocations can still occur. Labour migration is a two-way street and internationally trained dentists who want to work in the United Kingdom, where there has been a labor shortage for some time, have also been affected by the pandemic.