Magazine Dental Academy launched in Belize City

By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. June 25, 2026
Belizeans wishing to pursue a career in dental health saw their dreams come within reach with the opening of the Magazine Dental Academy in Belize City on Friday, June 26.
The Academy’s founder, Dr. Osbert Usher has been serving the Belizean community since he completed his training at the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala in 1984, and he brought four decades of experience to shape his dream into reality. “My pursuit of excellence in service led me to establish this Magazine Dental Academy here in my beloved country of Belize,” he said. “It is these four exciting, informative decades of experiences, along with my esteemed colleagues in dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and nutrition; and the unwavering support of my wife, and my extended family, that I am now able to establish Magazine Dental Academy.
“Our vision is to be a nationally accredited and regionally recognized institution in dental hygiene education, advancing patient-centered care in perfect professional collaboration, and community oral health through practice, education and research. Our mission is to deliver high quality, evidence-based education that prepares graduates to be ethical, competent and compassionate oral health professionals, who lead in clinical practice, research and community engagement across the region,” he declared. “For students in Belize, MDA represents an unprecedented opportunity to train in a program in the international standards while remaining rooted in the needs of Belizean communities.”
“MDA is more than an Academy, it is a movement to introduce a new set of empowered professionals, dental hygienists, and strengthen Belize in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. … We are opening doors to a future where Belizean dental professionals will lead with knowledge, compassion, innovation, based on evidence-driven research,” he affirmed.
Isabel Bennett Moody, the Dean of MDA, pledged to “ensure that MDA delivers high quality, evidence-based education, preparing graduates to be ethical, competent, and compassionate oral health professionals. This involves overseeing curriculum development, faculty excellence, students’ success and the integrity of cutting-edge technology in dental education.
The MDA is about “advancing community oral health initiatives across Belize, and where possible, in the Caribbean, … in promoting innovation and research which will be the core of our Foundation, ensuring that MDA receives and remains at the forefront of dental hygiene education and clinical practice,” she avowed.
“The guiding principle of the Academy is founded on the vision of prevention,” declared dentist lecturer Sylvan Thompson. “Our goal – this principle emphasizes proactive oral health care, community awareness, and the importance of preventive dentistry, as the cornerstone of better health outcomes.” He noted that “a lot of the children, teenagers, young adults have a high incidence of dental cavities. Most of them are coming in just basically [to] remove their teeth, because it’s hurting.”
The Academy has capacity for up to 25 students, Dr. Usher explained, and has 3 training laboratories where the students may practice their techniques on each other as they learn. The ambience is also very environmentally friendly, with an open-air cafeteria on the roof, where students may enjoy a panoramic view of the city as they study, and at break time. The MDA is licensed by both the Ministries of Health and Education, Usher said. The management is now in discussions with government authorities for legislation, so that dental hygienists who complete the MDA program may be academically accredited to pursue further education at university and abroad.