SpringLM

Hi,I'll be moving to Turin to join my husband in Feb 2010.
Can anyone recommend any good language centres or University to learn Italian?
I would like to hear from expats living in Turin/ Milan- where or who do you go to for dental treatment, do you know of any dentists contact or dentists who would like to hire an english-speaking dentist, any contact or information I could get would be great... I graduated from Ireland and have been working in Australia as a dentist for the last 4 years.
Thank you! Look forward to hearing from you and making some new friends..

indiebird

Hi SpringLm and welcome,
I know nothing about dentistry at all, apart from it costing you an arm and a leg in italy for dental treatment However, I do live just north of Turin near the airport. When we first came to italy hubbies firm booked us into intensive italian lessons for two weeks with a language school right in the centre of Torino called L'Italiano Porticando. If you google this you will come up with the school. It is family run and they were very helpful, although we needed longer than two weeks really... There are also many free courses run by the commune and I know that some of hubbies colleagues have gone to these and found them really good. Hope this helps you a bit.

Patty

Welcome to the forum Like Indie I am near Turin but unfortunately cant be of any help to you as I dont know anything about dentists except that they are jolly expensive here !!
There is an expat online magazine for Milan called Easy Milano - maybe you can take a look at that for ideas or contacts. Turin is a bit less cosmopolitan than Milan and so you might need to wait until you get here and suss out the place

37100

Hi and welcome! I live in Verona most of the time but am often in Turin (just round the corner from Indie) because hubby was born here. Can't help you with dentists I'm afraid except to say ouch! The bill, I mean. Not the treatment. You'd almost certainly need to get your diploma recognized, but I don't know for sure.

SpringLM

Dear Indie, Patty and 37100,

Thank you for the information...!..Just a question if I may to you but where do you go if you've got a toothache, if you need your teeth cleaned? or if your children need some teeth looked at ?..do you go back to dentists in the UK? have you got a regular dentist or not so regular dentist that you go to for emergencies?!..please let me know....
Is there an expat community that lives in certain areas in Turin?

My dental degree is Irish which is in the EEC therefore it will be recognized..
I will definitely need more than 2 weeks of lessons to be able to speak it... to learn the language and getting contacts for a dentists position thats the 2 main issues for me...

Patty

Well personally - we only go to the dentist here in an absolute emergency. We dont have a regular dentist and the kids do not have regular check ups. I'm ashamed to say this but its a matter of priorities. (ie. food on the table or the dentist)
Sorry to be so blunt but thats my situation.

Not sure about expat community .- there used to be an expat meetup (mainly americans) but I know that kind of stopped. I think its just meet people through work/or partners work. I teach and so I met some english people through that. Also met a friend through our children becoming friends - but its not easy

Patty

PS: you can go onto (if I remember correctly) the British Embassy site and search for English speaking dentists in Turin - I got a list and printed it off - that could give you some contacts to get started.

indiebird

I have to say that currently we have private health insurance so I take me and the kids off once a year for a check up and a clean and any work that needs doing here. My dentist is in a small town but he does speak a bit of English as he attended the International School when he was a kid. He doesn't speak much English now though due to lack of practice/ interest I suppose. Not sure where Expats live in Turin. I know there are a few (rich ones) in the 'Hills'. The International School is in Moncalieri so many live here or places like Pino, I think, but I don't know this for a fact.

The lady at that school reckoned that 3 months of intensive lessons would have you speaking and reading/ writing fairly well, but I don't know if this is true. Must admit that my italian is still rubbish after 2 years of being here but I do get by. I know what I kinda need to know. I haven;t really devoted a load of time to it though and we still speak English at home so this makes a difference I think.

37100

http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/nav/i...en.html#6943_1

This any help? I go to an Italian dentist. His daughter is with him and she studied in USA.

SpringLM

Hi All,
Thank you very much for your help.
You've given me some good leads to start on...keep me posted..
Cheers

37100

It occurred to me that you might not know that most italian dentists work independently even when they work in groups. Few practices hire dentists. A dentist friend of ours in N.E. Italy closed her practice (she was having a life crisis) and hired a chair in another practice so that she could continue a few days a week.

SpringLM

Hi 37100,
yes thank you for your kind thought, I'm aware that most dentists work independently, my husband said that from the beginning.. I'm not too sure exactly how it works though...some rent rooms and some are paid by commission I was told...
Thats why I need to find out more information, or Ill have to suss it out when I get there...I'll have to be very lucky to find a group practice..Ill have to start somewhere..

37100

Goodluck with everything. Can only suggest the obvious such as get all your paper work in order, take an intensive course of Italian before you arrive etc. Keep us informed (we're dead nosey) and I hope we can meet up when you arrive - with Indie and Patty.

indiebird

SpringLM

yes will catch up that sounds good
will keep u posted...I probably will do my intensive lessons in Italy..I'm too stressed sorting out relocating stuff right now to do any studying..
i will probably need 1 yr intensive to speak properly lol
keep your eyes n ears out for me for any dentist related stuff...
so where are you all located exactly?...