New dental institute will make a 'big difference'

A new dental institute which has officially opened in Lincoln will lead to an increase in appointments, England's chief dental officer said.

The Lincolnshire Institute of Dental and Oral Health (LIDOH) at the University of Lincoln will offer a new BSc in Dental Hygiene and Therapy from September.

Professor Jamie Read, Dean of Lincoln Medical School, said their focus was on "recruiting as many local people as possible".

The institute has been funded with £1.5m through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, managed locally by the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA).

Jason Wong, chief dental officer for England, attended the official opening on Wednesday.

"We're going to be training 30 students a year, and of course, if you multiply that across the number of students and the number of appointments, it makes a big difference," he said.

The course prepares students to register as both dental hygienists and dental therapists with the General Dental Council (GDC).

A dental therapist performs a range of treatments to prevent oral disease, such as fillings, taking dental x-rays and extracting baby teeth.

The institute has longer-term ambitions to develop a full dental school for the region, subject to national approval.

Wong said they were particularly keen to hear from dental nurses, as he said progression had not always been possible.

"We've set up what's called a gateway year, which will facilitate those brilliant professionals to access the next step in their career… those will predominantly be people employed locally, who will then stay," he explained.

Patients in Lincolnshire face some of the longest waits for NHS dental access in the country. Currently, the East Midlands has no dental school despite significant workforce shortages.

The institute has advanced clinical simulation technology to train students, including a "phantom head" which mimics a patient lying back in a dentist's chair.

Dr Fadi Barrak, acting clinical director of the institute, said: "You can do anything you want from with these heads. You can remove plaque, you can do fillings, you can take teeth out. So they [sudents] get to experience the whole range."

Lincolnshire mayor Andrea Jenkyns said the institute would help to improve access to NHS dental care for communities across the county.

"Forty six percent of people can't even access a dentist, which is terrible" she said.

"By having this here and having homegrown talent, then we can start actually serving the community as we should be."

This article has been updated to accurately reflect a change in the percentage of people who cannot access a dentist from 4 to 6 percent to 46 percent.

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