Dentistry Electives Abroad: Observations & Practicums

Fully supported dental electives abroad

Each of our 3 dental elective programmes are delivered through English, and each offers a very different experience, with the most comprehensive being in Sri Lanka.

Dental Electives in Sri Lanka

Location: Colombo & or Anuradhapura

Weeks: 2 - 12

Elective Description

Our first dentistry electives with the Sri Lanka Army were joined by dental students in 2024. Following their recommendations, 4th year dental students from Uni Dundee’s School of Dentistry are booked for 2025.

You will experience a complete range of specialisms, carry out practicals, and (uniquely we are told), support in-patient OMF surgery. The Sri Lankan government provides free health care to all citizens, and the army provide free treatment to serving soldiers, veterans, and their immediate families.

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 reconstructive work during and after the civil war, has 5 chairs, sees 80 patients each day and has the feel of a ‘cottage hospital’.

Each hospital also has its own technicians making implants, dentures, and crowns.

Placements are limited to 4 dental students per hospital per week, and early booking is recommended.

For comprehensive information about this unique placement opportunity, please read the information go to the page Sri Lanka Army Dental Corps Placements

Prices are the same for each hospital, and are quoted with and without accommodation according to your preference.

Dental Electives in Ghana

Location: Accra

Weeks: 2 - 12

Elective Description:

Our dental electives in Ghana are held in a general hospital in Accra. You will provide much needed support to the dentistry care of 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 requires for entry to its staff. This is the background in which our dedicated medical professional partners work each day, and a reason they encourage people such as yourself to join them for the support you bring.

Your accommodation is run by our partners and close to the general hospital in Accra, and a short drive to the teaching hospital should you decide to go there.

There are two different hospitals for our dentistry electives in Ghana, depending upon the requirements of your university.

These are:

  • The general hospital, Accra

  • The Teaching Hospital, Accra*

*Placement at the teaching hospital costs an additional US $280 registration fee, and US $120 per week for the elective in addition to the cost of the elective at the general hospital

Dental 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

Your dental elective in low income, and low resourced settings

tooth sticks for sale in an Africa dental electives

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.