Stephen Morgan MP welcomes the first sustained expansion of dental school places in nearly two decades, which will improve access to NHS dentistry for Portsmouth people.
- Expansion will increase the dental school places available every year from 2027.
- The first sustained expansion in dental school places since 2007 and will take effect from the 2027/28 academic year.
- The University of Portsmouth is eligible to be allocated these new places.
The OfS has been told to prioritise this expansion for new dental schools approved by the General Dental Council (GDC) that do not currently receive government funding for places, which should include the University of Portsmouth.
As evidence indicates that dental students tend to practice near where they trained, this expansion has the potential to increase the availability of NHS dentistry through increased appointments and practices if new places are allocated to the University of Portsmouth.
Additionally, the Government has announced that a total of 2,400 more overseas-trained dentists, many of whom are already living in this country and waiting for the opportunity to help, could be registered annually from 2028/29.
Alongside this, the General Dental Council will significantly expand the number of places of its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE), meaning more than 1,000 overseas-trained dentists are expected to join the register annually via this route by 2028/29.
These bold measures will help to significantly increase Britain’s overall practising NHS dentists, potentially increasing those practising within Portsmouth and reducing the strain on those already practising within Portsmouth from external clients previously unable to find more local practices.
These expansions follow the recent announcement that, with the assistance of Stephen Morgan MP, the University of Portsmouth has been successfully granted Dental Authority Status for their existing Dental Academy.
This status allows Dental Academies to become Dental School able to provide a dentistry degree qualification, making the UoP eligible to bid for the new positions to be made available by the OfS and train new dentists in Portsmouth.
As the independent OfS is ultimately responsible for final allocations, it will shortly commence a bidding process, whereby dental schools apply for the new places. Allocations will be made based on the criteria in the government’s guidance letter, as well as an OfS assessment of provider capability.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Access to NHS dentistry remains a challenge faced by Portsmouth people and remains an issue I am prioritising within parliament.
“The progress already achieved by the University of Portsmouth, securing Dental Authority Status for their Dental Academy, will allow them to take advantage of the opportunity provided by these new places and train the next generation of dentists right here in Portsmouth.
“Training our own dentists here in our city means we can build a sustainable NHS dental workforce that understands and serves our community’s needs”.
Commenting, Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, said:
“Given Stephen Morgan MP’s longstanding campaigning to improve access to NHS dentistry for the people of Portsmouth, I am pleased to announce that our requests to the OfS will provide the University of Portsmouth with an opportunity to train the next generation of dentists.
“Strengthening regional dental workforces is crucial to improving access and tackling geographic disparities, including Portsmouth’s own dental desert”.
Commenting, Professor Chris Louca, University of Portsmouth’s Director of Dentistry, 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.”
Commenting, Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), said:
“RCS England is pleased to work with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to increase the number of places for candidates sitting the Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) examination.
“This expansion will support more candidates, strengthen the dental workforce, and help improve public access to dentistry.”
Commenting, Tom Whiting, Chief Executive and Registrar at the GDC said:
“More ORE places, along with more students at dental schools and the increase in capacity for the LDS, is great news for the dental workforce and, in turn, patients and the public.
“Sustainable change requires a long-term plan, and working with others, we are committed to playing our part, to support any workforce strategy, including building a comprehensive framework to support international recruitment.”
