Dentistry internships abroad in South America, Africa and Asia

The experiences you will have on your overseas elective placement are likely to be vastly different from anything you are used to in a domestic setting.  In many of our destinations the dental facilities are greatly under-resourced and it's no exaggeration to say that you may find yourself working with equipment, and in conditions which really test your skills and abilities.  Oral and dental health may be less of a priority for local people, due to financial considerations, and as a result they often tend to present later than they do in wealthier countries.

Our partner hospitals and clinics in each destination country all offer good opportunities for practical work in general dentistry, such as scaling, extractions, fillings and root canal work.  There are also more specialist placements in oral cancer, maxillofacial and surgery.  Please check our individual destination pages on the right side of this page to learn more about available areas of specialty within each country.  If you wish to work in an area which isn't mentioned here, you can always get in contact with us, to find out if it may be possible.

All our dental elective students are allocated a supervisor/preceptor who will be their main point of contact.  We ensure that this person is a qualified dentist and that they understand what you expect from your placement and, in turn, what they can expect from you.  We appreciate that your dental school is also likely to have a number of requirements of this individual, and it is therefore important that you communicate all this information to our staff, during the pre-departure period.

For those newly-qualified dentists among you who are keen to take part in outreach work during the summer month, we also arrange specialist dental projects in rural areas, screening and treating children with little or no access to dental healthcare.  Read more on our Dental Outreach page.

Everybody who signs up on a dental elective placement stays in one of our Work the World houses.  These are sizeable, local residencies which you will share with other healthcare students from our dental, medical, nursing, midwifery and physical therapy programs.  We are justifiably proud of these premises, which are "student houses" in name only!  Each is maintained by a team consisting of a housekeeper and a caterer, who ensure that the place is kept clean and tidy at all times, that the pantry is kept well-stocked with food and that you are provided with breakfast and dinner throughout the working week.  They will also maintain a continual supply of drinking water.

Our international staff teams all work hard to ensure that all aspects of your time away with us go as smoothly as possible.  In the pre-departure period the destination staff put a great deal of effort into planning the placement, whilst the staff in the head-office ensure you are kept informed of everything you need to know, and answer any questions that you might have.

Once you have actually arrived in the destination country, you will find the local staff to be a continuous supportive presence throughout your trip.  They will meet you from the airport and bring you to the local Work the World house, where you will meet other students.  When you have recovered from the journey and the jetlag, you will be given a full orientation of the local area, including how to use public transport, where to withdraw cash or change travelers checks and anything else that you need, or may wish, to know!

The following day you will be brought to your placement, introduced to your supervisor and taken through all the important documentation and information that is required.  After this you are free to start your elective placement, but our local staff will always be available to handle any problems that you have.

Our intention is to give you all the information that you require in order to feel safe and secure when you are going about your daily life at the hospital or clinic in which you work, and out and about in the local area.  Then, whilst you are in the Work the World house, we want you to see it very much as a safe haven; this is why we take steps to ensure we maintain high health & safety standards, and we do not hesitate to employ additional security measures where we deem them appropriate.

We understand that an international elective is not simply about working in a different dentistry setting; there is a whole new world out there that you are going to want to explore!  Fortunately Work the World houses are often full of like-minded people so you shouldn't have trouble finding some traveling companions, if you want them, at the end of your placement or simply for a weekend trip.

Our local staff should be able to provide you with any information that you need to help you work out where you want to go and what you want to do.  Also, don't forget to ask other students in the house for advice, hints and tips; you will find that the continuous turnover we have in each house means that, at any time, the current residents are a trustworthy body of past knowledge and experiences!  The community spirit that this fosters is a really nice aspect of a Work the World placement, and it also means that nobody joining a program on their own needs ever be concerned that they are going to feel lonely; there will always be a friendly group of people there once you've arrived!

Our Add-on projects vary from destination to destination, but all are intended to provide our students with a broader elective experience, whether of the local healthcare system – such as our Village Experiences in Africa & Asia; or the local culture – like the Intensive Spanish Course in Argentina.

Full information on the available options can be found in the specific destination pages or from the links above.