Dentists without Limits

Dentists without Limits (DWLF), known in German as Zahnärzte ohne Grenzen, is a non-profit and charitable registered association (eingetragener Verein) headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany. It was founded on 26 January 2018 by eleven dentists and dental technicians as the successor organisation to the non-legal-capacity Dr.-Claus-Macher-Stiftung, which had been established in 2004 under the name Zahnärzte ohne Grenzen. The association describes itself as an independent organisation whose purpose is to support dentists, dental technicians and dental assistants in carrying out their own aid projects, enabling them to provide voluntary humanitarian dental care to people in need in disadvantaged countries simply and legally. This basic dental care is provided free of charge to patients in need. The organisation's roots go back to the early 2000s, when the Nuremberg orthodontist Claus Macher attended a lecture about Nepal and learned that people living far from cities there had practically no access to basic medical and dental care. He decided to act in the dental sector for Nepal and in 2004 founded the private, non-legal-capacity Dr.-Claus-Macher-Stiftung with the aim of initiating basic dental care in under-served areas of Nepal. In its founding year the foundation set up four fixed and two mobile dental stations in Nepal and supported initial aid missions, which were free of charge for the needy population. Over the following years the foundation expanded to Mongolia (2007), Sri Lanka (2007), India (2008), Zambia (2009), Romania (2009), Namibia (2011), Ecuador (2011), Cape Verde (2015) and China (2015), and it organised major missions in Mongolia in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018, one of which was accompanied by a film team that produced a documentary about the foundation's work and its field teams. By 2017 it had become clear that the legal form of a non-legal-capacity foundation was no longer suitable for the greatly increased tasks and business processes, so the founder decided to continue the humanitarian work on the basis of a legally capable registered association. On 26 January 2018 eleven dentists and dental technicians founded the association Zahnärzte ohne Grenzen e.V. | Dentists without Limits Federation, with its seat, like the foundation before it, in Nuremberg. The English name Dentists without Limits Federation, abbreviated DWLF, was deliberately chosen with the noun "Limits" rather than "Borders", partly to avoid confusion with an existing Canadian NGO and partly because DWLF operates not only across national borders: nationality, skin colour, language, religious affiliation, political conviction and traditions are also not limits for DWLF, because humanitarian aid should know no limits. The abbreviation DWLF has become a widely used synonym for the organisation and is reflected in its main internet domain, www.dwlf.org. The association's logo was taken over from the former foundation. It shows a stylised globe with lines of longitude and latitude, entwined by an Aesculapian snake, the symbol of the medical profession. In the centre are five overlapping rectangles symbolising the continents, with a red spot in the middle below them pointing to the first mission country, Nepal. The logo is surrounded by the name of the association in English and German. The organisation's guiding motto is "Helfen, damit ausbalancierte Länder in einer ausbalancierten Ländergemeinschaft entstehen können" (Helping so that balanced countries can emerge in a balanced community of nations). Its ethical foundation is the SCIMUS ethic, acceptance of and action according to which is a mandatory prerequisite for every mission participant.

The history of Dentists without Limits begins in the early 2000s, when the Nuremberg-based orthodontist Claus Macher attended a lecture about Nepal. He learned that people living far away from cities in Nepal had practically no access to basic medical and dental care. Macher decided to do something in the dental sector for Nepal. In 2004 he founded the private, non-legal-capacity Dr.-Claus-Macher-Stiftung with the aim of initiating basic dental care in under-served areas of Nepal. In its founding year the foundation set up four fixed and two mobile dental stations in Nepal and supported initial aid missions, which were free of charge for the needy population. In 2007 Mongolia became the second host country, initially with the establishment of a fixed dental station in Batsümber. In the same year the foundation set up a fixed dental station in Beruwala, Sri Lanka. In 2008 the foundation expanded its engagement in Mongolia and, with fixed and mobile dental stations, offered free basic dental care to nomads for the first time. In the same year India became another host country, with fixed and mobile dental stations in Coonoor, Dharmapuri and Azhagiapandipuram. In 2009 dentists travelled with the foundation's support to an African host country for the first time: Zambia. In Siavonga, fixed and mobile dental stations were used. A fixed dental station was also put into operation in Lunca Ilvei, Romania, in the same year. In 2011 the foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Namibian Ministry of Health. In the same year it entered into a cooperation with the Clinica Misional "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" in Ecuador. In 2012 the first missions in north-eastern Namibia, in Grootfontein and in Bushmanland, were realised. In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018 DWLF organised major missions in Mongolia. The 2013 missions were accompanied by a film team, and a documentary film about the foundation's work and the field teams was produced. In 2015 Memoranda of Understanding were concluded with Cape Verde and the People's Republic of China, and the first missions in Cape Verde took place in the same year. In 2017 it was recognised that the legal form of a non-legal-capacity foundation was no longer suitable for the greatly increased tasks and business processes. The founder therefore decided to continue the humanitarian work on the basis of a legally capable registered association. On 26 January 2018 eleven dentists and dental technicians founded the association Zahnärzte ohne Grenzen e.V. | Dentists without Limits Federation, with its seat, like the foundation before it, in Nuremberg. The English name of the association was set as Dentists without Limits Federation, abbreviated DWLF. The abbreviation DWLF has since become a widely used synonym for the organisation and has also entered the main domain of its internet presence (www.dwlf.org). The English noun "Limits" rather than "Borders" was deliberately chosen, on the one hand to avoid confusion with an existing Canadian NGO and on the other because DWLF operates not only across national borders: nationality, skin colour, language, religious affiliation, political conviction and traditions are also not limits for DWLF, because humanitarian aid should know no limits. The association's logo was taken over from the former foundation. It shows a stylised globe with lines of longitude and latitude, entwined by an Aesculapian snake, the symbol of the medical profession. In the centre are five overlapping rectangles symbolising the continents, with a red spot in the middle below them pointing to the first mission country, Nepal. The logo is surrounded by the name of the association in English and German. The founding president of the association is the Munich dentist Stefan Rohr, who succeeded the former foundation president Claus Macher upon the association's founding in 2018. The president and his board members are supported by further bodies. The organisation continues to carry out volunteer dental missions in countries including Zambia, Cape Verde, Togo and Tanzania, as reported on its website, and remains active in the tradition of the foundation's work in Nepal, Mongolia, India, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Ecuador, Romania and China.

• 2026

  DWLF missions take place in Togo (March), Zambia (May and July) and Tanzania, as reported on the organisation's website.

• 2018

  On 26 January eleven dentists and dental technicians found Zahnärzte ohne Grenzen e.V. | Dentists without Limits Federation in Nuremberg; major mission in Mongolia.

• 2017

  Recognition that the non-legal-capacity foundation form is no longer suitable; the founder decides to continue the work as a registered association.

• 2015

  Memoranda of Understanding concluded with Cape Verde and the People's Republic of China; first missions in Cape Verde take place; major mission in Mongolia.

• 2014

  Further major mission in Mongolia.

• 2013

  Major mission in Mongolia accompanied by a film team; a documentary about the foundation's work is produced.

• 2012

  First missions in north-eastern Namibia, in Grootfontein and in Bushmanland.

• 2011

  Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Namibian Ministry of Health; cooperation with the Clinica Misional "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" in Ecuador.

• 2009

  First missions in an African host country, Zambia, with fixed and mobile dental stations in Siavonga; a fixed dental station opens in Lunca Ilvei, Romania.

• 2008

  Engagement in Mongolia expands to free basic dental care for nomads; India becomes a host country with stations in Coonoor, Dharmapuri and Azhagiapandipuram.

• 2007

  Mongolia becomes the second host country with a fixed dental station in Batsümber; a fixed dental station is set up in Beruwala, Sri Lanka.

• 2004

  Claus Macher founds the private, non-legal-capacity Dr.-Claus-Macher-Stiftung; four fixed and two mobile dental stations are set up in Nepal.

Independent, non-profit humanitarian organisation providing free basic dental care in disadvantaged countries through volunteer dental professionals, guided by the SCIMUS ethic of political and religious neutrality and equal partnership.

• Volunteer dental aid missions

  Short-term missions by volunteer dentists, dental technicians and assistants to provide free dental care in disadvantaged countries.

• Fixed dental stations

  Permanent dental facilities established in host countries such as Nepal, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, India, Zambia and Romania.

• Mobile dental stations

  Mobile dental units used to reach patients in remote areas, including nomads in Mongolia.

1. 1Willkommen bei den Zahnärzten ohne Grenzen - ZAHNÄRZTE OHNE GRENZENdwlf.org
2. 2Dentists without Limits - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Zahnärzte ohne Grenzen - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org