hello everybody, well i am a newbie in this nice forum and i wanted to share with you a dream of mine. I visited switzerland among several european countries on my summer vacation few years ago. The moment i set foot in this country as i got off the train from milan to sion, i fell in love with this breath taking country. I was on a european tour with my family and we decided to visit my half swiss/ half egyptian cousins in saillon. i was really taken by the peaceful ambience and beautiful scenery of the country.
Then i said to myself, i cann't imagine knowing that such a beautiful place existed and i wasn't living in it. I was still a student at dental school, in egypt back then and i was learning french too at that time. I was thrilled by the fact that the swiss speak french, german and italian as i wanted to learn and practice all the three languages. I finished the french and i'm working on my german now by taking courses at goethe institut in cairo. Now that i am a licensed dentist in my country, egypt, i started thinking of finding a way to travel to switzerland to live and work there. I would really love to work as a dentist there as dentistry is a passion of mine but working as a foreign dentist there is not that easy from what i researched over the internet. I wonder if anyone can help me figure out what i should do to work as a dentist there. I'm also open minded to other job opportunities that might need some additional education, say a year or two, with a decent salary. Any help is really appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum.

I think one of your first steps will be to find out if your dentristy education is recognized or not by the swiss authorities...this varies drastically between schools, and countries. The body that that will govern this decision varies from profession to profession, but do some google searches for Dentistry in Switzerland and see what comes up (sorry I can't help more specifically with your profession).

Also, Katamarate has a friend that works in the dental profession, you might PM her to see if her friend would be open to you contacting her. Good luck.

Are you an endodontist? There are not too many around here. Surprisingly.

hi, no i'm a prosthodontist i am taking my master's exam in a few days.
wish me luck

Thank you for your help ,but i cann't seem to find Katamarate on the member's list.
what about simple jobs that can cover my living expenses, pay for rent and food if i need to take some additional courses/semester in the university here in switzerland to practice dentistry.

Sorry about that, I spelled it wrong. Kamarate is her username.

In answer to your last question regarding simple jobs: in short, it can be done, but it's not easy. If it's really your dream, and worth the effort, you can only try. If you are on the fence, I would think it over, it is amazing to live here, but it's very challenging too. Some people like challenges, others crumble under them...only you know how much you want this, and what you are willing to do or accept to make it work. Good luck.

Thank you for your prompt reply, you're right about all what you said but what do you mean by challenges, limited job opportunities or may be high cost of living?

I have a friend with a B.D.S in Dentistry from a UK University, and he managed to work in Switzerland. Your biggest problem is whether the Swiss Dentistry Association (SSO) recognizes your diploma. Sorry to say, but the odds are not good. They are very protective of their home market, and only grudgingly recognized EU Dentistry degrees as part of the bilateral treaty about 7 years ago. Having a recognized degree is just the beginning, you need to speak and understand the local language perfectly or you will scare the patients away (Swiss German in the German speaking part). My friend here went through over a year of trying to master the language before finding his first job as a contract dentist. It ended badly and it was another 2 years before he landed a decent job. He has been there now over 10 years, so it all worked out in the end, but it was a long road.

An interesting and really informative reply. Guess i have to work real hard on my german and french. Fortunately learning foreign languages is a passion of mine even though it might seem a little bit challenging to learn the swiss dialect and expressions. However, i like challenges. Guess i have to see now if my degree is recognized on the (sso).
Thank you very much, karl.

Hi,

nice to hear how much you like Switzerland. To resolve some of your questions regarding the recognition of your education here in Switzerland this webpage might be helpful. http://www.crus.ch/information-progr...-enic.html?L=2

One of my former colleagues at work was confronted with a similar problem: holding a colombian dentist degree she had to go back to university here and accept lower paid jobs in gastronomy while studying. I would think too, that you might invest a few years here before everything falls into place like you planned.

Thank you for your advice schutsim. Sorry for the delayed reply. I've been really busy lately. I finally finished my masters exams at last. Hope I could get things done.

HI Melsedek,
The best is to contact the SSO, which is the Swiss dental association and find out if your dental degree has recognition in Switzerland. Most EU nations are able to work here, but non/EU is rather difficult. You can write to jobs@sso.ch and ask to be placed on an employment list of dentists looking for jobs. You shall receive a list of dentists looking for assistant doctors. For this service, you will need to pay a small fee.

I am an American Dental Hygienist, having arrived to Switzerland 25 years ago. If I can be of any help, send me a pm.
All the best!!

Hi Melsadek,

This here will help you:
http://www.bbt.admin.ch/themen/01105/index.html?lang=en

They will tell you how any qualifications will be recognized in Switzerland, the only downside is that you will have to pay for it. It's worth every penny though. Good luck