Strengthening dental education in Africa
Dental Capacity is a nonprofit committed to building Africa’s oral health workforce by making dental education accessible in every country. The most powerful way to improve care is to invest in people. Equipping future educators and dentists transforms entire health systems, one leader at a time.
5 dentists per 1 million
Average dentist to population ratio in low Human Development Index African nations*
The World Health Organization recently declared oral health a global crisis, revealing that nearly 3.5 billion people — almost half of the world’s population — live with untreated oral disease, more than any other non-communicable disease. This crisis is not slowing down.
Across the continent, poor oral health is heightened by a shortage of dental schools and specialists. Up to 21 countries in Africa do not have a dental training program. There is an average of 5 dentists per million people in many African nations – which means the gap between need and care keeps growing.
Dental Capacity partners with African leaders and institutes to address this critical need with lasting solutions. We help train educators, renovate or build dental schools, and implement practical training programs that directly address the lack of a specialized oral health workforce. When dental education improves, access to care improves - so communities can avoid needless pain, infection, lost productivity and painful oral health complications.
*Source: Gallagher et al. (2023). Oral health workforce in Africa: A scarce resource. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2328. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032328
Today, thanks to the support of Dental Capacity, Dr. Kallo is on her way to becoming one of her country’s very first pediatric dental specialists - without having to choose between her education and her family.