Global oral health course in Cambodia for UK dental students

Abstract

Dental students from high-income countries (HIC) engage in volunteer opportunities in a way that reinforces harmful perceptions of saviourism and poverty. This undermines the goal of bringing dentists into the profession with a deep understanding of global health and disease. This paper presents a 2-week course that provided dental students from HIC with practical experience in global oral health service delivery. The course involved four UK dental students participating in a 2-week course run by the University of Puthisastra in Cambodia. Students undertook skills training and competency testing and provided care alongside Cambodian dental personnel in routine mobile dental clinics. They also observed the practices of local dentists in their private clinics, participated in workshops on social determinants of health and systems thinking, and visited local marketplaces to contextualise their learning. The visiting students were exposed to global health concepts and developed skills in oral health service delivery in non-conventional settings. By working with a large number of patients and gained both organisational and clinical skills. The program received positive feedback. Adjusting workshop timing and length, along with pre-learning through online courses, can improve the content and depth of the course.