BACKGROUND:
Oral health remains a low global health priority, particularly in the Global South, where it is frequently excluded from national health budgets, universal health coverage packages, and non-communicable disease (NCD) strategies. Chronic underinvestment has resulted in high burdens of preventable oral diseases and persistent inequities. Despite these constraints, several Global South countries are implementing innovative, prevention-oriented oral health approaches using limited resources, cross-sectoral collaboration, and strong community engagement.

METHODS:
This organised session synthesises practice-based case studies from Tonga, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, and India, drawing on programme documentation, participatory research, and implementation experiences. The cases examine how oral health interventions are integrated into schools, primary health care, NCD programmes, substance use treatment services, and community development initiatives, with attention to governance, partnerships, and sociocultural contexts.

RESULTS:
In Tonga, the MaliMali School Oral Health Programme achieved a national shift from extraction-focused care to prevention through school-based fluoride use, daily supervised toothbrushing, and interministerial collaboration. Community-engaged initiatives in Ghana and Tanzania integrated oral health with women’s health education, oral cancer and noma screening, and participatory inquiry, strengthening local capacity and sustainability. In Kenya, participatory action research led to community-driven solutions addressing structural barriers such as water access, linking oral health with WASH, nutrition, and education. The South African case demonstrates how integrating oral health protocols into substance use disorder treatment improves oral health-related quality of life and dignity. In India, the Mandya Model in Karnataka embedded oral health within NCD control through public–private partnerships, mobile dental services, and community mobilisation, extending care to hard-to-reach populations.

CONCLUSIONS:
These cases demonstrate that, even in resource-constrained settings, Global South–led innovations can deliver equitable, scalable, and contextually grounded oral health solutions. Collectively, they reposition the Global South as a producer of knowledge and practice essential to strengthening global oral health systems.