There is one private dentist on Île Sainte Marie. For most families in the villages where NORA works, dental care in Madagascar is simply beyond what they can afford. Untreated dental disease causes pain, affects nutrition, and disrupts learning – and the window to prevent lasting damage is narrow. Protecting a child’s first permanent molars between the ages of six and twelve can determine their dental health for a lifetime.
In partnership with the Phillips Renner Foundation – an American NGO with decades of experience delivering dental care to children in underserved communities worldwide – NORA is working to close this gap. Island Smiles is a multi-year initiative bringing essential dental treatment and preventive education to over 2,000 children on Île Sainte Marie.
The Challenge: Access to Dental Care in Madagascar
Across the villages on the east coast of the island, children grow up without access to basic dental care. The consequences are visible and lasting: pain that makes it hard to eat and concentrate in school, infections that go untreated, and teeth lost early in life that affect health and development for years to come.
Dentistry on the island is either too expensive or, for many communities, simply non-existent. They have no access. Without intervention, the consequences are irreversible.
Our Approach: Treatment and Prevention Go Hand in Hand
Island Smiles is built on the understanding that access to care and the knowledge of how to maintain it must go together. The initiative combines essential dental treatment with long-term preventive education – delivered in close collaboration with schools, village communities and local health authorities.
- Dental screenings across all partner schools to assess needs and plan treatment
- Essential treatment including restorations, extractions and fluoride varnish application
- Preventive education helping children and parents understand how to care for their teeth every day
- Toothbrushes distributed to every child in the programme
NORA manages all planning, logistics, permitting and community preparation on the ground. The Phillips Renner Foundation brings the clinical expertise and the team. Together, we make it possible.
How it started and what comes next…
In September 2026, the founders of the Phillips Renner Foundation visited Île Sainte Marie as guests of NORA. In four days, nearly 1,500 children across nine schools received their first dental screening – from pre-primary through to secondary level.
The first team of dentists arrives in 2027. Between now and then, NORA is coordinating all preparation: working with local authorities, fokontany leaders, school directors and health system representatives to ensure the programme is built to last.
The Phillips Renner Foundation has made a clear commitment to returning year after year. Island Smiles is not a one-off visit. It is the beginning of a long-term partnership.
The Schools and Communities Involved
Island Smiles covers ten schools across the northern part of Île Sainte Marie, both east and west coast, reaching approximately 2,500 children from pre-primary through secondary level in vulnerable communities.
Do you want to know more about our partner villages?
The village Ambohidena
The village Sahasifotra
The Village Agnafiafy