Grace Dillett Uganda

At University I volunteered abroad in India and had the best time, it has always been something I wanted to do again and when I managed to secure a spot for Feb 2026 I was so excited. I think volunteering and helping those less fortunate is an important thing to do. The great thing about overseas volunteering is that you get to experience and learn about a different culture. Going to Uganda with Dentaid is a perfect combination of both.

I signed up for the 2026 trip in Nov 2024 so I had plenty of time to get planning. I trained for, and ran the Edinburgh Half Marathon in 2025 and was very generously sponsored by family and friends through JustGiving. Later in the year I organised a ticketed book swap and a raffle which helped to boost my fundraising. I also sold some old clothes on Vinted with the proceeds going towards my Dentaid trip.

This was my first time visiting Africa and Uganda surpassed all my expectations. It is such a vibrant and beautiful country. The nature we were able to experience was something I will never forget and truly once in a lifetime. Every community we visited were so welcoming and friendly. I couldn’t believe the kindness of people who have so little and yet are so generous. I really admired people’s faith and resilience when they often live in such tough conditions. I really loved being able to visit local homes and experience what felt like the real Uganda. I am so grateful to have met the people we did. As expected there were some more emotional times and in some cases the poverty and stories of peoples experiences were harder to understand than I could have imaged.

Normally we would be up for an early breakfast before heading out on the bus to get to clinic, some days it was a shorter journey than others. We all mucked in to help unload the vans and get clinic set up going. After the first session and learning how clinic is typically set up, we became super slick at getting everything organised. We would be put into our clinical pairs in the morning and there would be a lovely prayer before we started the day. One of the dentists would begin triaging patients and from there they filtered through to our 6 clinical stations where we would confirm treatment needed and make a start. We would usually begin clinic around 8:30/9 and stop for lunch around 2pm. It made for very hungry work and we were always so pleased to see Stevie appear with samosa’s or Rotis and fruit. We then would carry on for another 2/3 hours before packing up and heading home. We would always reconvene back at the hotel for a well deserved dinner together and to mull over the day.

As a therapist, I was able to provide my whole scope of practice which I really enjoyed. There were definitely more extractions than fillings to be done. As we had no radiology it was difficult to tell which teeth were suitable for a filling vs an extraction. Due to this we did not want to fill teeth that might flare when we were gone, and so mostly it was best to be cautious and extract. I am used to working in the PDS and any treatment I do for children is normally under sedation, it was strange to be doing this without! We had excellent translators but it could still be difficult at times to have the same bedside manner we would have in our own language. Unlike the last dental overseas trip I did we had rotary handpieces which made a big difference. The only thing I really missed was a 3in1, otherwise we had lots of great equipment. Clinic always had a great vibe, there was always music and dancing! It was super fast paced and I enjoyed not having to write any notes.

The patients we saw could not have been more grateful. I was amazed at how many people attended clinic and waited to be seen. It was a real privilege to be able to help in these clinics.

Every day I felt there were so many things I never wanted to forget and really enjoyed keeping a journal to keep track of it all. Genuinely every single day was so special and memorable. I loved every second of our clinical days and our touristy days. We were so lucky to be able to go on safari and do Gorilla trekking on top of everything else.

I think this trip with Dentaid has really reaffirmed to me the importance of not taking anything for granted. We are very lucky in this country to be able to access higher education and gain skilful employment that can support us to live. Yes sometimes work can be long and frustrating at times, but it has reminded me to be thankful to be in this position. Part of wanting to work in healthcare for me was to be useful to my community but I think really it is bigger than that and we should be trying to help all people in need even outwith of our own countries. We are really lucky at home to have the access to healthcare and education that we do and we need to remember that is not always the same in other places. I am very determined to get back to Uganda or on another Dentaid trip in the future and hope it will be something I can continue to do!