He arrived in Glasgow with three hundred euros from his mother-in-law in his pocket. Soon <\/t1>his wife arrived on the British Isles with <\/t2>their point of view from Slovakia: dentistry at an excellent level, but it lacks <\/t3>a humane <\/t4>client approach and the awareness that a smile is a work of art made by a dentist. <\/t5>They decided to change that after returning to their home country. Libor and <\/t6>Valéria Michnovci from the ArtDentistic clinic in Bratislava.<\/t7>
Their career path as renowned dentists was practically predetermined. He decided on dentistry already in childhood; she comes from a medical family. In the end, it was during their studies of dentistry at university that they met and started a relationship that later grew into marriage—and, at the same time, into a business partnership. They gained practical experience after graduation in the United Kingdom and in Scotland. “I was <\/t2><\/t1>the first swallow from our young family who decided to test <\/t4><\/t3>the conditions in Glasgow. My mother-in-law asked me for three hundred euros, but for the rent of the apartment, she <\/t6><\/t5>took 700 pounds from me. I had a hundred reasons to turn around and go back <\/t8><\/t7>home. It was in the year 2005, when there was an acute shortage of dentists on the islands. <\/t10><\/t9>In the end, I stayed, and shortly after, my wife arrived with our first child. <\/t12><\/t11>We both started after completing our rigorous training to practice our profession. <\/t14><\/t13>We returned home after eight years,”<\/t16><\/t15> describes the beginnings of Dr. Libor Michna, MSc.’s career abroad.
It’s not that bad
Napredovanie slovenského zdravotníctva si podľa manželov bežný človek nevšimne. V porovnaní s vyspelejšou Európou však nášmu zdravotníctvu chýba kultúra a ľudský prístup k pacientovi. „Stomatológia v Škótsku nebola, na moje prekvapenie, na takej vysokej úrovni, ako som pôvodne očakávala. Ak môžem generalizovať, slovenskí pacienti majú vo svojej podstate šťastie. Starostlivosť, ktorej sa u nás dočkajú, je na veľmi vysokej úrovni. Problémom Slovenska je však neosobnosť a chladný prístup, to som v Glasgowe nezažila,“ vymenúva rozdiely Dr. Valéria Michnová. „Na druhej strane, v Spojenom kráľovstve Veľkej Británie a Severného Írska je aj niekoľko špičkových stomatologických pracovísk. Takým by sme sa radi priblížili,“ dopĺňa doktorku Michnovú jej manžel.
Our clients, our passion
Pacienti, ktorí sa zverili do rúk stomatológa vo Veľkej Británii či Škótsku sú vnímaní ako jedinci vyhľadávajúci konkrétnu službu. „Treba si uvedomiť, že sa rozhodli práve pre vás, dôverujú vám, a tak si zaslúžia to najlepšie. Stopercentný výsledok práce a ľudský prístup. Pacient nás nesmie otravovať, je potrebné pristupovať k nemu s rešpektom a úctou. Hlavné poslanie našej práce je pomáhať a liečiť,“ hovorí o najužitočnejšej lekcii a inšpirácii z Glasgowa Dr. Libor Michna, Msc. z bratislavskej kliniky ArtDentistic.
Diametrically different, however, is the education abroad—knowledge related to dental hygiene and the prevention of dental diseases. “Both of us completed training also <\/t2><\/t1>in the USA, where people are taught to take thorough care of their teeth <\/t4><\/t3>from an early age. Most of our people look for a dentist even then, when they feel <\/t6><\/t5>pain and need to solve an acute problem. Few people think about prevention,” <\/t8><\/t7> the couple warns.
Back to the unknown
Education is what makes the Michnov couple successful. Family ties and the path they took are, however, tied to the most important feeling that brought them home after eight years—to Bratislava. In Scotland, they had to leave everything behind. They sold their house, left friends, long-term land, and last but not least, patients. “Coming to <\/t2><\/t1>Slovakia was a cultural shock for us. We don’t regret the decision to return, <\/t4><\/t3>because we both love Slovakia, but the beginnings of business on our home soil were <\/t6><\/t5>complicated—especially because of bureaucracy and the fact that we were starting from scratch. The only thing <\/t8><\/t7>we had was our know-how. We knew that private practice is the way forward, and so <\/t10><\/t9>we immediately founded our own clinic,”<\/t12><\/t11> describes Dr. Valéria Michnová’s return.
A client-oriented approach is the alpha and omega for renowned dentists in their business. Equally important is the implementation of the most modern technologies and innovative methods into practice. For example, in the case of implantology, which Dr. Libor Michna, MSc. specializes in. “That the patient feels comfortable in the clinic <\/t2><\/t1>and doesn’t feel fear is not a small thing. But it’s also important that they don’t feel fear <\/t4><\/t3>or pain even in the office, in the dental chair. Only then will they be satisfied and <\/t6><\/t5>come back,”<\/t8><\/t7> adds Dr. Valéria Michnová.
