Pre-Dental and Dental Internships Abroad

You learn under supervision. Pre-dental students shadow licensed dentists and observe patient care; they do not treat patients.

Dental students work only within the limits of their training. A licensed dentist supervises them, and the host site sets the rules.

Outside the hospital you attend lectures, debriefs and simulations, help at community clinics and teach oral hygiene in schools.

Areas include general dentistry, oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics and preventive care, where the site offers them. What you see depends on the day’s patients.

In Mombasa you are placed in the Dental Unit at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital. In Cusco you join the Dentistry Department at Hospital Nacional Adolfo Guevara Velasco. Dental interns stay in the dental unit rather than rotating through other departments.

Most days run from about 8 AM to 4 PM, with six to eight hours in the dental unit. Afternoons can bring a lecture, a community clinic or a hygiene lesson.

Weekends are open for treks or extra hospital time. Here is a sample dental program schedule for East Africa.

From two weeks up to 12 in Kenya, which runs year-round. Cusco runs fixed sessions of two to four weeks.

Most interns stay four to six weeks. A longer stay gives you more time with the dental team and a wider range of cases.

IMA documents your role, shifts and total hours, validated by its U.S.-based Medical Director. For pre-dental students these hours are typically counted as shadowing. Each dental school decides how to count hours earned abroad, so check with the schools on your list.

The American Dental Education Association encourages students to shadow in a variety of practice settings, such as general dentistry and specialties. A hospital dental unit abroad adds one setting. It works best alongside shadowing at home, not instead of it.

No dental school lists international experience as an admissions requirement. What counts is what you learned and how clearly you describe it.

You receive a certificate of completion, and you can request a letter of recommendation. Your hours are logged by role and shift and validated by IMA’s U.S.-based Medical Director.

Academic credit is your school’s decision. Many interns have earned it, and IMA supplies proof of hours, descriptions of your duties and faculty evaluations. Settle the approval before you enroll.

IMA’s placements are all overseas. Closer to home, the American Dental Education Association suggests asking your own dentist whether you can shadow. If they cannot, ask them, your friends or your professors to recommend another dentist.

You can also talk to your health professions advisor or contact a local dental school about alumni who take shadowing students.

Neither. These are not paid positions, and you pay a program fee to attend. Need-based and merit-based scholarships can cover part of it.

Two weeks costs $3,995 in Mombasa or Cusco. Eight weeks in Mombasa costs $7,895, and four weeks in Cusco costs $5,995. A separate $995 program deposit applies to every program.

Your placement, teaching, housing, meals, transport and insurance:

• Hospital dental unit placement and clinical mentorship
• Orientation, weekly debriefs, the Global Health Lecture Series and clinical simulations
• Shared housing in a gated residence with 24/7 security, three meals a day and Wi-Fi
• Airport transfers and private daily transport to your placement
• Travel medical insurance with $1,000,000 in coverage
• 24/7 in-country and U.S.-based support
• Weekly community outreach and local cultural outings
• Alumni graduate school admissions support

It does not cover international airfare, vaccinations, visa costs, optional laundry or personal spending. IMA-branded scrubs are required and bought separately. The $995 program deposit is extra.

Yes. IMA offers need-based and merit-based scholarships. IMA offers flexible, interest-free payment plans, and Program Mentors give specific guidance on the plans available for your program dates.

IMA’s Funding Guide covers outside scholarships, grants and fundraising on sites such as GoFundMe and FundMyTravel. Some interns also use financing through Uplift.

Plan on $50 to $100 a week. Meals, housing and program transport are covered, so spending money goes on meals out, souvenirs and weekend activities.

Optional treks cost extra. In Kenya, the Masai Mara safari starts at $3,595.

Most purchases in Kenya are in cash. Bring newer U.S. bills from 2009 or later, because older ones get a lower exchange rate.

IMA reports a 100% safety rating, with no incidents involving interns or staff in any of its programs. The details are on the program safety and security page.

You live in a gated residence with 24/7 security and travel only in private program vehicles. Staff are on call around the clock.

Orientation covers health and safety before your first shift. Post-exposure prophylaxis is available at no cost, and families have a 24/7 U.S. contact.

In a shared IMA program residence near your hospital. Residences sit in gated communities with 24/7 security staff. Rooms hold two or three interns, and common areas include Wi-Fi, a kitchen, a dining area and a lounge.

An in-house chef cooks three meals a day, and housekeeping staff look after the house. In Kenya, optional laundry costs $155 for the first two weeks and $55 for each extra week.

IMA recommends Mombasa, Kenya for most college students. It is IMA’s largest and longest-running program, it runs in English and it runs year-round. Cusco, Peru suits students with at least two years of Spanish who want fixed summer or winter dates.

IMA’s dental internships run only in these two cities, not in Europe or Asia.

Either way, ask any program five questions. What will you do, and who supervises you? What teaching is included, what is the full cost and who helps if something goes wrong?

This page answers each one for IMA.

Yes, and you can check the details yourself. International Medical Aid, Inc. is a federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit based at 1629 K Street NW in Washington, DC. It launched in 2012, and its alumni come from more than 1,250 universities.

You can read accounts from interns and parents on the alumni testimonials page. Every intern is covered by $1,000,000 in travel medical insurance.