Region's first dental school one step closer
The government has announced 50 extra undergraduate dentistry places per year
Plans for the East of England's first dental school are one step closer with the government announcing the creation of an extra 50 undergraduate dentistry places per year.
The government says this marks the first significant increase in dental training places in two decades, boosting the total from 809 to 850 by 2027.
Local MPs have advocated for establishing a dental school at the University of East Anglia (UEA) due to the region being a so called 'dental desert'.
The East of England remains the only region in England without a dental school and consistently records some of the lowest NHS dental access rates in the country.
Norfolk's ratio of 36 dentists per 100,000 people starkly contrasts with the national average of 53 per 100,000.
Alice Macdonald, MP for Norwich North, praised the development, stating:
"This is fantastic news. Thanks to the Minister’s steer to the Office for Students, a new dental school at the University of East Anglia is closer than ever before. I, along with other MPs, will be continuing to work hard to get this over the line."
South Norfolk's MP Ben Goldsborough described the move as 'fantastic news for patients and for the future of dentistry.'
UEA reacts to new dentistry places
The UEA have welcomed the announcement from the government and the Norwich based university ntends to submit a bid for new dentistry training places when the Office for Students (OfS) opens the process and would be ready to welcome its first students in September 2027, subject to allocation.
Undergraduate training places for dentistry are capped by Government and providers must be allocated places by the OfS in order to deliver training.
Prof David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor of UEA, said: “Training dentists locally is proven to help recruit and retain them in the region - and this region needs them urgently.
“We are grateful for the strong, cross‑party support of our local MPs, whose sustained advocacy has helped bring this issue to the forefront in Westminster.
“Our plans are ready and our NHS partnerships are established. If places can be allocated swiftly, on a needs‑based allocation, we can open applications for students to begin training with us in September 2027.”
Prof Phil Baker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, said: “UEA has been making the case for new dentistry provision because the evidence is clear: training dentists locally is one of the most effective ways to recruit and retain them in the region.
“Our experience with Norwich Medical School demonstrates this. Around a third of our medical graduates stay to work in the East of England, and we want to replicate that success for dentistry.
“We have supported people from under‑represented backgrounds to study medicine through our successful Gateway programme and our Preparing for Medicine course.
“Both of these help us recruit local students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.”