A relevantly trained, multi-skilled public health workforce is the key to the development, improvement and efficient functioning of comprehensive public health systems. In many developing countries, including India, oral health services suffer from serious constraints regarding the accessibility for all and lack of a community oriented approach. This review has been specially compiled from the workforce developmental strategies of the various nations across the world to enable analysis of the manpower development techniques in the various developed and developing nations to enable formulation of guidelines in the emerging countries based on their needs and resources to provide adequate access to oral health care.

Key-words: workforce development, public health dentistry, primary prevention, access to health care.