Teams working together with Ugandan associates - 2026 Overseas Volunteering

2026 Overseas volunteering opportunities

We have announced our calendar of 2026 overseas volunteering opportunities in Uganda, Cambodia, and Malawi!

These overseas volunteering trips provide a unique opportunity for UK dental professionals to support local dentists and deliver much-needed dental care to some of the most underserved and isolated communities. Volunteers treat up to 150 people a day in schools, orphanages, rural villages, churches, community centres, and areas where people are experiencing poverty.

Our charity has a long history of providing sustainable dental care overseas. Since we were founded in 1996, we have worked in more than 70 countries in some of the most remote corners of the world. Alongside annual volunteering trips, we provide all-year support for local dental professionals by sending equipment, funding outreach programmes, and supporting oral health education programmes. Oral hygiene education is at the heart of overseas volunteering trips, especially in areas where sugary drinks and chewing sugar cane are common but the links to tooth decay are still poorly understood.

Volunteers will play a crucial role in providing outreach clinics in areas where people have little or no access to dental care. Teams of 8–12 dental professionals, including dentists, nurses, therapists, and hygienists, will treat up to 150 patients a day – with some patients walking for hours to access a clinic. The teams will set up and deliver the clinics, sterilise equipment, conduct triage, provide necessary aftercare, and deliver essential oral health education presentations. As many of the villages don’t have access to electricity, the teams perform basic dentistry using portable equipment. During a typical two-week trip there will be 10–12 clinics, with every trip having a Dentaid trip leader responsible for the itinerary, working with local partners, and ensuring everyone’s safety.

The overseas volunteering experiences are truly life-changing previous volunteer Dr Paul Kearny said, The most honest thing I can say about our trip to Uganda is that I didn’t just find it rewarding; it completely reinvigorated my relationship with dentistry. If you need a reset, go on an overseas volunteering trip – it will put everything back into vivid perspective. Over nine days, our small team treated 1,349 patients which is a testament to the power of collaboration. Read full blog post.

All volunteers are asked to fundraise £2950 per trip which covers the costs of flights, accommodation, travel, meals on working days and the dental supplies we need to provide free care for thousands of people.

To find out more about our overseas overseas volunteering trips and apply, click here.