Portsmouth Nears Launch of First South-East Dental School
As the government’s major NHS dentistry reforms, announced last month, begin to expand access to urgent care, the University of Portsmouth has taken a significant step towards opening the first dental school in the South-East of England.
Its current Dental Academy , which trains dental nurses, dental hygienists, and dental therapists, has been granted Dental Authority Status (DAS) by the Department of Health and Social Care – a mandatory requirement for all UK institutions that want to provide a degree in dentistry.
The announcement builds on December’s transformative reforms to NHS dentistry, which will prioritise patients with urgent and complex needs while expanding access to local dental appointments. The University’s dental school ambition will help train the next generation of dentists needed to deliver on these reforms for Portsmouth and the wider region.
Portsmouth faces a critical shortage of NHS dental services, with the city having the lowest headcount of NHS dentists per 100,000 people in the region.
The University’s dental school ambition is backed by several MPs, including Amanda Martin MP for Portsmouth North, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP for Gosport, and Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South.
What now?
The University is now awaiting the government’s decision on how many additional dentistry students will be funded across the UK. Once this is confirmed, the Office for Students (OfS) will allocate places to dental schools through a competitive process.
If successful in securing an allocation, Portsmouth will be able to welcome its first dental students as early as September this year. Not only could this mean the first dental school for the region, but also one of the first to open in the UK in 20 years.
https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/university-of-portsmouth-steps-closer-to-opening-first-dental-school-in-the-south-east