Nearly one in two dentists newly recognised in Belgium earned their degree abroad. The figure, published on 14 October 2026, has revived the debate on how practitioners enter the profession. The Flemish dental association VVT is calling for clear rules on quality, safety, language and knowledge of our healthcare system: DentalHub sums it up.
1. What the figures say
Between 2020 and 2025, 1,265 of the 2,821 new authorisations to practise dentistry went to holders of a foreign basic degree, close to 45 percent. Among physicians the share is far lower: 3,014 out of 13,918 authorisations, around 22 percent.
The data comes from the Federal Public Service Health. It was requested by MP Frieda Gijbels (N-VA) from Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke, then published by De Tijd and picked up by VRT NWS.
Two caveats belong with the number. The degrees come mainly from Romania, the Netherlands and Italy, then France, Portugal and Spain — and that group also includes Belgians who went abroad to study. An authorisation, moreover, is not proof of actual activity in Belgium: it grants the right to practise, it does not count how many practitioners actually settle here.
The VVT makes the point itself: dentists with a foreign degree have become indispensable to oral healthcare in Belgium, and many are well trained. The debate is not about individuals, but about the entry rules.
2. Recognition without meeting our healthcare system
European dental degrees are recognised automatically in Belgium. The practical experience students gain during their studies, however, varies widely from one programme to another.
Those who graduate in Belgium complete a compulsory traineeship year, during which they learn clinical practice and how our healthcare system works. European law prevents Belgium from imposing that year on holders of a European degree.
The VVT argues for a compulsory traineeship for every new dentist, which would require European rules to be amended. The European federation CED, of which the VVT is a member, defends the same position in its Copenhagen Declaration of April 2026.
3. European IMI alerts remain underused
Through the European IMI system, member states warn each other when a care provider has been suspended, struck off or convicted. Belgium receives 4,000 to 5,000 such alerts every year.
At the end of 2025, the Federal Public Service Health confirmed that these alerts were not being opened proactively, while countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Ireland and Italy opened virtually all of the 2024 notifications.
In June 2026, Minister Vandenbroucke acknowledged the problem and announced that his administration would examine how to make IMI a firmer step in the visa procedure, with a proactive risk analysis and a tool to link an alert to an active provider more quickly. The VVT supports that approach, wants to see results, and asks that dentists be treated as a priority professional group in the risk analysis.
4. Language as the foundation of care
Since 2024, the quality act has required dentists to master a national language at C1 level, an improvement the VVT campaigned hard for. But knowledge of one national language is enough, whatever the region of practice: a practitioner who speaks only French may therefore work in Flanders, and the reverse holds just as true.
The VVT therefore supports the bill tabled by Frieda Gijbels, which states that a care provider must know the language of the region where they work. The argument is clinical before it is political: a sound diagnosis, informed consent and reliable aftercare all depend on smooth communication with the patient.
5. Honest workforce planning
Flemish students must pass an entrance exam, and the number of RIZIV/INAMI numbers granted to Belgian graduates is capped by a federal quota. Dentists with a foreign degree fall outside that quota, yet work within the same healthcare system. For the VVT, serious planning has to account for the full supply of care.
Entry is nonetheless screened: last year 45 dentists were refused their visa because they did not meet the conditions.
6. What the VVT is asking for
- a compulsory traineeship year for every dentist starting out;
- effective and stricter follow-up of European IMI alerts;
- the language of the region as a condition for the visa;
- workforce planning that takes the full supply of care into account;
- for dentists holding a degree from outside the European Union, a practical test modelled on the Dutch system, covering clinical skills, infection prevention and communication.
7. What this means for your practice
Nothing changes in your obligations today: the rules in force remain the visa, the recognition and C1 level in one national language. The proposals above are requests from a professional association and a bill, not law in force.
In practice, when you hire an associate the points to check are unchanged: their visa, their recognition and their ability to communicate with your patients in the language of your patient base. Should the Gijbels bill be adopted, that last check would become a legal condition rather than a recruitment choice.
Sources: VVT, "Bijna helft nieuwe tandartsen buitenlands opgeleid: VVT vraagt heldere instapregels", 14 October 2026; VRT NWS and De Tijd, 14 October 2026, based on Federal Public Service Health figures obtained by MP Frieda Gijbels.
