Consistent with the general under-investment in oral health as a serious health issue historically there has been almost a complete absence of Western-based charity, dedicated to oral health.
 
Where Western intervention occurred or oral health charities have been established, they have generally been concentrated on a particular hospital or project in a middle or low-income country overseas. In addition, the support has generally been western clinical volunteer support, equipment provision or modest financial resources, often to support western dental clinicians based with mission agencies and NGO/mission hospitals.

One or two small excellent specialist oral health NGOs (two to six workers) do exist in continental Europe (including France, Holland and Italy). These generally invest in more national-scale projects, primarily through advocacy and capacity building, to support middle and low-income country governments form and implement appropriate national oral health strategies. However, they consistently struggle for funding and are normally only able to work on a few projects worldwide at a time. 

Among larger health agencies, the World Health Organisation (WHO) play an important role in oral health, although once again funds and their remit are limited. There is an influential WHO collaborating centre at Nijmegan, Holland (one of Dentaid’s main strategic partners), who have taken a leading role in the development of the WHO Basic Package of Oral Care and some of its techniques. However, again its resources and operations are also limited.

The FDI World Dental Federation (a body representing national dental associations in different countries and another of Dentaid’s main strategic partners) have made major steps forward in recent years in focusing upon improving oral health in middle and low income countries, and are doing some excellent work around the world. However, they are constitutionally tied to working primarily with and through national dental associations, and have some institutional and political constraints upon their work.

When Dentaid began in 1996, it was a brand new concept in the UK to have a full-time specialist oral health charity dedicated to improving oral health in more than one country or project. Until recently, like it’s European counterparts, it was also similarly very small and under-resourced. However, with excellent support from the UK dental industry, Dentaid has now grown to be the largest specialist oral health development charity - certainly in the UK and probably in the world. It now has the core support and infrastructure necessary to operate effectively and has equipped itself with a wide range of in-house skills, experience and resources to offer potential projects and partners.

Dentaid is now in a unique strategic position to take an important lead in the oral health development field. As well as expanding its current core work, if funding can be secured for its various new initiatives which have a potentially global impact or application, they will form an unprecedented advance in charity involvement in improving the oral health and oral health care provision in middle and low-income countries.