Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition No. 9, 2015

Dental TribuneAsia Pacific Edition | 9/201504 WORLD NEWS Educated in Manchester and a dentist at heart, Dr Stefanos Morfis opened his first practice in Athens five years ago, right at the begin- ningof thedebt crisisinGreece.Five years later, he is selling it owing to the economic circumstances and is planning to register with the Gen- eral Dental Council in order to start working as a dentist in Britain. Dental Tribune had the opportunity to speak with him recently about the situation of dentists in his home country and the reasons he has chosen to leave. Dental Tribune: Dr Morfis, with the recent referendum on the austerity measures proposed by the EU and theresignationofMinisterofFinance Yanis Varoufakis, the debt crisis in Greecehasheatedupagain.Canyou describe what impact the crisis has had on dentistry in your country? Dr Stefanos Morfis: When one looks back 10–15 years, dentistry actually used to be quite a prosper- ousbusinessinGreece.Sincemany dentists received their education incountrieslikeEngland,Germany ortheNetherlands,thelevelofden- tistrywasquitehigh.Whatwehave seen during the last ten years or so is that fewer people are visiting the dentist because of their financial situation and they only go when they are already in pain. You have to know that, unlike in theUKorotherEuropeancountries, most dental care here is private. Since many cannot afford treat- ment in Greece, they travel to other countries, like Macedonia, where they receive cheaper, but lower quality, treatment. Recently, I heard of two patients who died after un- dergoingatoothextractionthere. Owing to the lack of money for treatment, caries levels are very high and, although we are fully aware of its benefits, there is very littlemoneyforanykindofpreven- tative dentistry. This is only done at university level. Consumer prices in Greece are soar- ing owing to the strict regulations. Have prices for dental treatment also gone up? In contrast to everything else in Greece, prices for dental treatment have actually gone down in the last five years. While one could charge €50 or more for a composite fil- ling in 2003/2004, today there are quite a number of dentists who are performing fillings for just €20. This trend is facilitated by the majority of patients, who are only looking at price and not at what kind of material is being put in their mouth. Do not ask even me whatkindoffillingstheyusesome- times! But how can one work pro- fessionally and ensure quality for patients at these prices? With having to compete at such low prices, can you actually live on your income as a dentist in Greece? Ten years ago, our income was al- most double what it is now and the cost of living, materials and educa- tion were much cheaper. Living in Athens now is like living in London, butwithfivetimeslessincome.That is why many now meet their educa- tionalneedsonlinebyattendingfree webinars. What is really troubling is that more and more dentists are be- ing forced to sell their practice for halftheprice.Thatincludesme.Iron- ically, my practice will be taken over byadentistfromBritain. You are planning to work in the UK. When are you going to leave? I am currently in the process of registering with the General Dental CouncilandplanningtoleaveGreece in November. I did my postgraduate studiesattheUniversityofManches- ter’s School of Dentistry and I have workedinseveralpracticesoverthere. The austerity measures will allow Greece to stay in the EU. In your opinion, is there any possibility of the situation improving? There are positive examples, like Ireland and Portugal who were able to recover from the recession a few yearsago.Ihopetobeprovenwrong, but I do not see how the situation can improve in Greece. Politicians comeandgo,butthepeopleremain the same. If we do not drastically change how things are run in this country, in a few years I guess it will be impossible to recover. Would you go back if things start to improve? Iwouldliketo,butIthinkitwillbe verydifficult.Ihaveafamilytolook afternowandIwantthebestformy little son. At 35, I am at the best age tobeproductiveandachievethings in my live. I have always felt a love forthedentalprofessionandthere- fore want to dedicate my life to it. Thank you very much for taking the time and all the best for your future. “Idonotseehowthesituationcanimprove” An interview with Dr Stefanos Morﬁs, Greece Photo showing protesters inThessaloniki.The crisis has left Greece in turmoil.(© Aikaterini Mavromati,Greece) ©mavkate/Shutterstock.com DenTech China German Pavillion 21. 24.10.2015 Visit www.promedica.de to see all our products Dental Material GmbH 24537 Neumünster / Germany Tel. +49 43 21 / 5 41 73 Fax +49 43 21 / 5 19 08 eMail info@promedica.de Internet www.promedica.de Glass ionomer filling cement perfect packable consistency excellent durable aesthetics also available as application capsules Light-curing nano-ceram composite highly esthetic and biocompatible universal for all cavity classes comfortable handling, easy modellation also available as flowable version Temporary crown & bridge material less than 5 min. processing time strong functional load perfect long-term aesthetics excellent biocompatibility AD Dr Stefanos Morﬁs “Living in Athens now is like living in London, but with ﬁve times less income.” DTAP0915_04_Morfis 08.09.15 09:30 Seite 1 Tel. +494321 / 54173 Fax +494321 / 51908 DTAP0915_04_Morfis 08.09.1509:30 Seite 1

Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition No. 9, 2015

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