University of Portsmouth to bid for first dental school student places in England in 20 years

University of Portsmouth plans to open the first dental school in the South East of England move a step closer today, as the government announces an extra 50 dentists will be trained in England every year from 2027 in the first expansion of dental school places in nearly two decades.

The Department of Health and Social Care has told the Office for Students (OfS) - which is expected to announce new undergraduate allocations in April - to prioritise so called "dental deserts" that do not currently train dentists.

The University has been supporting dental services for 20 years - running undergraduate programmes in dental nursing, dental hygiene, and dental therapy at the Dental Academy. It was upgraded in 2023 with state-of-the-art facilities, featuring haptic virtual reality simulation units, modern phantom head simulation equipment, intra-oral scanners, CBCT X-ray equipment and CAD/CAM milling technology. 

It will submit a bid for student places to the Office for Students (OfS), as part of plans to open Portsmouth's own dental school later this year. Not only does this represent the first dental school for the region, but also one of the first to open in the UK in 20 years.  

Professor Chris Louca, Director of Dentistry at the University, said: "I very much welcome the news that the government will increase the number of dental school places for UK home students by 50 from 2027. Following the recent development of the first ever dental school in the South East of England, at the University of Portsmouth, we are well placed to educate and train these additional dentists to meet the future NHS dental workforce needs.

"Our strategy will be to recruit local students keen on a career in Dentistry to study on our new and exciting training programme using the very latest modern simulation equipment and clinical facilities. We will aim to graduate dentists ready to deliver oral and dental healthcare in the immediate area and region in order to address the existing poor provision of such services in a part of the country referred to as a dental desert. This is an exciting development in UK dentistry and the University of Portsmouth is looking forward to rising to the challenge."

Local MPs back plans to address Portsmouth's "dental dessert"

Portsmouth has fewer than 100 NHS dentists serving a population of over 200,000, which equates to approximately one dentist for every 2,265 residents. The University’s dental school plans have been backed by several MPs, including Amanda Martin MP for Portsmouth North, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP for Gosport, and Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South.

Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said the Portsmouth area has "suffered under a dental desert for too long," and welcomed the news that the University had secured Dental Authority Status, adding the move will help to "build a sustainable NHS dental workforce that understands and serves our community's needs."  

What next?

If granted student allocations, the new dental school would integrate undergraduate training for dental therapists and dentists, with a strong focus on team-based training within primary care and community settings.  

With 97 per cent of dentistry and medicine graduates from Portsmouth entering high-skilled employment when they graduate - higher than the national average - the University aims to recruit students locally to ensure graduates stay in the region and contribute to the local NHS workforce. It will also consider applicants' backgrounds and circumstances. 

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Professor Graham Galbraith CBE, said: "Portsmouth and the wider South-East region desperately need more NHS dentists, and we are ready to train the next generation of dental professionals right here in the heart of one of the country's most underserved areas."