Volunteering Opportunities

The Australian Dental Health Foundation (ADHF) is a registered charity whose vision is to address the inequality between Australians who can access dental care, and those who can’t. We do this through the coordinated matching of volunteer dental practitioners with patients from registered charities and not-for-profit organisations targeting: domestic violence, homelessness, mental health, addiction, long-term injury or illness, and poverty. Amelia Hogan, our Queensland State Coordinator is an experienced Social Worker who has worked in Australia and Ireland, and is greatly enjoying placing patients with generous volunteers across the state. 

Tzu Chi Foundation is an international humanitarian and non-governmental organisation established in Taiwan in 1966.  In 2002, Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) was started in Brisbane by a small group of young dentists, led by Dr Alice Lu, who wanted to bring dental care to those that could not access the public system readily.  They identified the following groups as the most in need:

• Asylum seekers whom do not possess official refugee status
• Residents of remote communities 
• Those experiencing homelessness 

Dental Fairs

In 2004, in partnership with Queensland Health and various refugee organisations, the first Refugee Dental Fair was held at QEII Hospital and later became a biannual event.  In 2007, TIMA organised the first Medical and Dental Fair in Tara, a small town located 300 kilometres west of Brisbane. The local community hall is transformed into treatment rooms for medical and allied health services including dentistry.  One of the highlights at all TIMA dental fairs is the endless supply of delicious meals and snacks to sustain you through a busy and rewarding experience.

Inclusive Health Clinic

2011 marked the beginning of a long-term partnership between TIMA and Micah Projects (supporting those that are homeless or at risk of being homeless).  In 2017, they jointly opened the Inclusive Health & Wellbeing Hub in South Brisbane which operates Monday to Friday with one fitted dental surgery.  It’s operated by a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation.

Clinics For Kids was established as a response to the critical need for quality healthcare for children living in under-served rural and remote communities globally.  In 2021, Ryan Kungl, Founder and Director, and his team continue to demonstrate a new standard in student led collaboration in the charitable health space by expanding their services to cater for adults. 

In partnership with the Griffith University Dental Clinic and local homeless service provider partners; the ‘Clinics For Communities’ program aims to provide emergency dental treatment to people experiencing homelessness over three non-consecutive clinic days in addition to coordinating future access to dental treatment through the public system. The first clinic took place on April 7, 2021 and was a complete success with 23 patients receiving emergency dental care.

This program would not have been possible without generous funding provided for by the Pierre Fauchard Academy and support from Griffith University staff.

According to the World Health Organisation, half of the world still lacks coverage for the most essential health services. Within Australia, this includes remote and rural areas which are often occupied by Indigenous Australians. 

To make dental care more accessible for regional Australians, Griffith University dental students, under the supervision of a qualified dentist, have been providing dental treatment to the people living in the Indigenous community of Cherbourg, a regional town 170km north-west of Brisbane.

This initiative was run as a pilot study in 2010 by a group of Griffith University dental students and the project solidified in 2011 with David Baker and Kylie Arnot establishing a Memorandum of Understanding with the local health service in which the clinic runs.  It’s currently run as the dental arm of Hope4Health, a non-profit organisation and registered charity founded by Griffith University students in 2006. 

This year the team is led by final year dental students Emma Parsons, Iaitdaar Mia and Ryan Kungl.  Along with their supervising dentist, Dr Robert Foster, the volunteer team of students will deliver free dental treatment in the town from June 21-25 and for a week in November 2021.

Esesson Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that provides free health care for the underprivileged communities within Australia and internationally. 

They have initiated an oral health program on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane that addresses the oral health needs of underprivileged children. These children are identified as having extended waitlists or attending special needs schools that have limited access to regular oral health care. Many of these are children are refugees, special needs children or children from low socio-economic backgrounds. 

 Esesson Foundation’s CEO, Dr Ajitha Naidu Sugnanam, has been managing the initiative providing Free Dental Care for Underprivileged Children throughout 2021.  Ms Olan Hartley, Operations Manager, is responsible for all day to day operations required for the program's success. 

The program is fundamentally reliant on monetary donations, consumable donations, volunteer dentists, volunteers (assistants, university students) and generous community private practices. The volunteers giving their time provide treatment, oral hygiene instruction/preventative education, clinically assist in the operating surgery, as well as engage with children through activities while they wait for treatment.   

The program which has provided a very positive first dental experience for many of these children has had clinic days run at private practices including at Jindalee, Mudgeeraba and Biggera Waters in 2021.