Dentistry Electives Abroad: UK #1 dental school recognised
Click to view the 6 steps to joining our dental electives, including required documentation and where to get insurances. Or scroll down
Fully supported dentistry electives abroad
Each dentistry elective abroad program is delivered through English.
Dentistry Electives in Sri Lanka
Locations: Colombo│Anuradhapura
Weeks: 2-12
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We are proud partners of the SL Army Dental Corps, offering dental students from around the world this globally unique professionally managed dentistry elective opportunity.
Spaces are limited to 8 elective students and pre-dental shadows at any one time. We recommend early booking to avoid disappointment
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The SL Army provide free dental care to 1.2m Sri Lankans - serving and retired soldiers, and their immediate families, giving you access to the widest range of dental health matters in one setting.
The army hospitals are welll resourced, and well managed, and you will be fully supported in all you do across each dental disciplines.
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The army’s Colombo hospital is modern, well equipped, with 20 chairs, sees 200 out-patients a day, and has an in-patient OMF ward in the hospital proper. The Anuradhapura hospital, famous for its work during and after the civil war, has 5 chairs, sees 80 patients each day and has the feel of a ‘cottage hospital’.
The major disciplines of dentsitry are found in both hospitals.
Each hospital also has its own technicians making implants, dentures, and crowns.
You will shadow dentists, be able to carry out practical procedures, observe technicians, visit a local government hospital for comparison, take part in supporting OMF surgeries, and discuss denstistry in sri Lnaka with university lecturers, consultants, and staff.
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We work with you to organise your elective around both your university’s requirements, and your stay in this wonderful destination.
Sri Lanka has everything a continent can offer on a small island, with tourism opportunities for all budgets. We are very happy to advise on all aspects of that for you.
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The price of your elective covers the payments to the SL Army hospital to support their work, our management and support, as well as your accommodtaion and food in Anuradhapura.
In Colombo, we ask you to find your own accommodation (which we support you with), and the price we charge is adjusted for that.
Follow this link to the pricing page.
Read more about the Sri Lanka Army dental corps
Dental Electives in Ghana
Location: Accra
Weeks: 2 - 12
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Our partner health NGO in Ghana is headed by a nurse who is also a public health official. The NGO is able to arrange its own outreach and education programs with local authorities, identifying hospitals and clinics for health elective students and professionals to work in.
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You will provide much needed dental care for the local population and dental elective students are always well received.
These dentistry electives in Ghana provide a unique opportunity to carry out your practice in a low-income, low-resourced setting, which MSF advises as having been done before applying to them.
This is the background in which our dedicated partners work each day, and they are greatly encouraged and supported by your work with them
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Your dentistry elective takes place in a busy general hospital, or teaching hospital in Accra. Electives can include:
Clinical Exposure & Patient Care: assist in diagnosising, treating, & managing dental conditions, Perform routine procedures.
Observation and Skill Development: observe & assist in more complex procedures (oral surgery, endodontics, or orthodontics) as the setiing provides.
Patient Education and Preventive Care: you may be educating patients on oral hygiene, dental disease prevention, the importance of regular dental visits.
Community Outreach and Public Health Initiatives may involve you visiting schools, remote villages, or underserved urban and rural communities to promote oral health awareness, provide free dental checkups, screenings, and preventive treatments.
Research and Data Collection: Some elective students may be involved in research projects aimed at studying oral health issues prevalent in the local population. (Research has ioncluded the ‘impact of diet on dental health’, the ‘prevalence of specific dental diseases’, or the ‘effectiveness of oral health campaigns’.
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There is plenty to see and do in Ghana, and our partners will advise and support you to make the most of your time there.
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The price of your elective covers the payments to the hospital to support their work, all management and support, as well as your accommodtaion and food in Accra.
Follow this link to the pricing page.
Read more about Ghana and our partners
Dentistry Electives in Kenya
Location: various
Weeks: 2 - 12
Elective Description
Given the wide number of locations we offer in Kenya, which range from reaching hospitals to private clinics from Nairobi, to the forest of the west, and to the Massai tribals lands in the south, our dentistry electives are managed on a case-by-case basis.
Prices are the same irrespective of location
Benefits of Dentistry Electives Abroad
As dental elective students, you will work alongside local dental students, dentists, and in Sri Lanka, dental technicians, and trainee consultant dentists. This will engage you in an interesting process of cross-cultural exchange, and learning. This collaboration enhances your understanding of healthcare challenges and the management of oral health in developing countries.
Our elective dental students also benefit from direct mentorship by local practitioners, and gain invaluable hands-on experience in low income countries, more often than not with low levels of resourcing, and low staff to patient ratios. (The SL Army placement, in contrast is well resourced and staffed). This experience can enhance not only your cultural competence, but also your ability to be adaptive in your treatments.
Whichever country you are in, our dental elective students broaden their clinical expertise, and contribute to the improvement of dental care delivery in the country, and the encouragement of local health professionals.
The six steps to joining our dental electives abroad
Step 2
Complete our application form.
Pay your deposit to confirm your place
Step 3
Get your university’s placement approval
Step 4
Required Documentation*
Passport copy
Police clearance: Dental students in England, Wales (& NI?) will have a DBS. Those in Scotland will have a PVG.
Professional Indemnity insurance (free with the DDU for UK students)
Recommendation letter from your university (confirming course, and practical experience)
Six weeks before arrival, your university’s record of your practicals, for placement staff to recognise your experience
Step 5
Pay the balance 12 weeks before arrival.
We (GAFV, our partners, the hospital, & you) draft an outline elective plan.
Amended as necessary on arrival, and after Week 1
Step 6
six weeks before your arrival, we provide the necessary visa application documentation
Required Documentation
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service Check):
We understand that some licensed health practitioners joining us from other providers, especially those with previous challenges, may wonder why we request a DBS check when others have not.
As a UK-based organisation, founded and run by professionals from education, medical, and development fields, we kindly ask everyone joining our projects to provide a police clearance. This helps us maintain our commitment to safety and professionalism.
Additionally, some visa types may require it, and health managers in the hospitals we collaborate with occasionally request it as well.
Insurances:
Having the right insurance is important to ensure a smooth and secure experience.
For your convenience, we’ve provided links to insurers that previous dental students have used. Please note that these links are purely for informational purposes—we are not affiliated with these providers and do not receive any commission. We simply aim to make your process easier by sharing options others have found helpful.
Recommendation Letter from Your University:
A recommendation letter from your university is an essential part of your application, as it confirms your eligibility for an elective with us. This helps us ensure that you’re on the right track for a fulfilling experience.
Record of Practicals:
We know that gaining hands-on experience is an important part of your journey. Hospitals and healthcare professionals reviewing your application value practical experience, as it gives them confidence in your abilities and helps them determine the appropriate opportunities for you.
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Dental electives abroad in low income, and low resourced settings
Tooth sticks for dental hygiene as sold in African markets
Sri Lanka’s dental elective placements take place in well resourced settings, in terms of both staffing, and facilities, in contrast to the civilian hospitals in Sri Lanka. Indeed, studies highlight the challenges facing dental care delivery in the health systems of low resourced and low-income countries in Africa, and Sri Lanka.
Access to dental care is a major concern in these countries, and dental electives provide opportunities for dental students and professionals to witness these disparities firsthand. Here you will develop your knowledge and clinical skills in diverse and challenging situations. You may learn to adapt and innovate with more limited resources, ultimately becoming more versatile and resilient practitioners. The experience gained in these settings can often enhance your problem-solving abilities, which may be something you’d like to explore in the future with organisations such as MSF.
In resource-constrained environments, the focus should shift towards preventive dentistry, but the nature of low resourcing means that budgets are directed at treatment and not prevention. Community outreaches planned by our partner organisations in Ghana seek to bridge that gap, and they draw in many people who would otherwise not see a dentist. This and educating the community, which our partners do, is a recommended approach to delivering better dental hygiene quickly through personal responsibility.
Our dental electives abroad in low-income, low-resource countries not only improve the oral health of underserved populations but support the growth and development of dental professionals. Dental electives abroad can develop empathy, resilience, adaptability, and a global perspective, whilst equipping you to make meaningful contributions now and in the future.