The University of Portsmouth today opened an improved dental clinic to provide excellent training and education for future dentists, dental hygiene therapists and nurses, as well as the very best services to patients in the local community.
The newly refurbished Team Clinic of the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy (UPDA) was officially opened by Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer.
The University has invested £1.3m to refurbish and update the clinic with the latest dental equipment. The new facility has been designed to meet the latest infection control and health and safety requirements, such as extra sinks per dental chair unit and a new, much improved, system for amalgam suction. The clinic also includes four larger, more private, bays for postgraduate training.
Professor Chris Louca, Director of the UPDA, said: “The new clinic will improve the patient experience and provide an optimal teaching environment for our students and staff. Our previous clinic was 12 years old and much of the equipment needed replacing and updating.
“The Academy is committed to improving the oral health of adults and children, as well as increasing access to NHS dental services.”
The new clinic will improve the patient experience and provide an optimal teaching environment for our students and staff. Our previous clinic was 12 years old and much of the equipment needed replacing and updating. The Academy is committed to improving the oral health of adults and children, as well as increasing access to NHS dental services.
The UPDA is an innovative educational partnership between the University of Portsmouth and King’s College London Dental Institute.
Every year, 80 final year dental students from King’s College London join 75 dental hygiene therapy students and 20 dental nursing students from Portsmouth to train and work together in dental practice teams. Supervised by tutors, the students provide dental treatment and advice to patients from Portsmouth, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The UPDA enables student dental care professionals and student dentists to experience working as a team just as they will in general dental practice.