Dentaid launches overseas volunteering opportunities for 2027

We’re giving dental professionals the chance to change lives by volunteering overseas in some of the world’s most under-served communities in 2027. As Dentaid The Dental Charity reaches its 30th anniversary of providing care around the world, we’re looking to the future by releasing our calendar of overseas outreach opportunities for 2027 in Uganda, Cambodia and Malawi.

Since launching in 1996, Dentaid has worked in more than 70 countries, reaching vulnerable people in some of the most remote corners of the world. Last year alone, our teams treated more than 10,000 people in need across six visits to Uganda, Malawi and Cambodia.

Volunteering gives dental professionals a unique opportunity to experience dentistry like never before, providing essential care in places where people have little or no access to dental services.

Teams of between eight and twelve volunteers set up temporary clinics in rural locations, including schools, churches and villages, seeing up to 150 patients a day. Patients range from young children to adults aged over 100, with some walking for hours to reach a clinic. As many villages lack access to electricity our volunteering teams provide basic dentistry using portable equipment.

Volunteers will also get the chance to teach oral health education, with toothbrushes and toothpaste being provided to all patients in each of the settings visited. Oral hygiene education is at the heart of our 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.

Sophie Godson, a volunteer dental nurse who visited Uganda with Dentaid in 2025, said:

“This experience has completely shifted my perspective on both dentistry and volunteering. It’s shown me how life-changing dental care can be, restoring not just health but confidence and dignity.”

Dates for out 2027 overseas volunteering trips are as follows:

Uganda

11 February – 27 February 2027

10 June – 25 June 2027

16 September – 1 October 2027

Malawi

1 July – 18 July 2027

Cambodia

13 March – 27 March 2027

6 November – 20 November 2027

All volunteers are asked to fundraise £2950 per trip. This covers the costs of flights, accommodation, in-country travel, meals on working days and the dental supplies needed to provide care for thousands of vulnerable people.

More details about our overseas volunteering trips, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, are available here.