About fifty dentists protest in front of parliament in the pouring rain

Around fifty dentists gathered outside Parliament this Thursday in pouring rain to demand the creation of a dedicated profession of dentistry in the National Health Service and to raise awareness of the precariousness of the sector.

Bad weather was not enough to demobilize professionals from a protest called by the Dental Union (DU) over a “spiral of class devaluation”.

The protesters are holding an umbrella in one hand and a banner in the other that reads: “Too many dentists in Portugal. Some dentists go hungry.”

The demands of dentists are also set out on banners placed on stands in front of the steps of the Assembly of the Republics, where you can read: “SNS dentists do not have a legislative basis. We are tired of promises, we want a career” or “A dental examination does not solve oral health problems. Social benefit at the expense of dentists.”

Protesters also shouted slogans such as “Health insurance plans are a scam” and “Oral health for all.”

Dentists warn that Portugal has more than twice the number of specialists recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) while having “one of the worst oral health records in the European Union”.

“The ratio of 800 inhabitants for each dentist will increase in 2025 to 650 inhabitants for each dentist, which is clearly exaggerated and harmful both for the profession and for the class, which is experiencing the biggest labor crisis since it existed in Portugal”, highlights union.

Dentists are also demanding regulation of health insurance plans, changes to the wording of dental exams, “an immediate reduction in the number of numerus clausus” and “prevention of the opening of another course of dental medicine.”