Dr. Mpho Molete

Mpho Molete is a South African public health dentistry researcher whose work centres on improving oral health systems for children and underserved communities. Affiliated with institutions in Gauteng, including the University of the Witwatersrand, Molete examines how school oral health policies are translated into practice and how governance, planning, and stakeholder engagement shape service delivery outcomes.

Her scholarship highlights implementation fidelity, policy gaps, and managerial perspectives in district health systems, revealing misalignments between national frameworks and local execution. Through qualitative case studies and mixed-methods research, she has advanced understanding of how resource constraints, communication, and workforce capacity influence the effectiveness of school-based oral health programmes.

Molete also contributes significant economic evaluations of preventive strategies, including mobile dental services and cost-effectiveness analyses of caries prevention in schools. Her work on community health workers and interprofessional learning underscores a commitment to task-sharing and collaborative models of care, positioning her research at the intersection of health policy, workforce development, and equitable access to oral healthcare.