Campaign to get more dental students in Plymouth

All parties are backing it

A campaign to attract students to the city’s Peninsula Dental School has attracted cross-party support.

The Plymouth-based school wants to enrol 72 dentistry students a year and will be promoting its courses across Devon and Cornwall.

There are also opportunities to study as a dental therapists or hygienists.

Public health specialist Rob Nelder told a Plymouth City Council health and wellbeing board the school accepted more students during the covid years because of issues over A levels but its usual intake is 58.

“Older dental schools take 72 students and the Peninsula Dental School wants to get its numbers up,” he said. “It has proved it can do it with an additional 21 and 22 during the covid years and we have been asked support that ambition.”

The council set up a dental task force in 2023 to address a growing dental crisis in the city, working with NHS Devon, the dental school, local MPs and University Hospital Plymouth.

It is supporting a new city centre practice being opened in the autumn to provide up to 3,500 emergency appointments a year and a training facility for new dentists.

Members of the Labour, Conservative and Independent groups on the health and wellbeing board said they all supported a campaign to increase the number of students.

The board will also look at promoting dentistry among secondary school pupils and making sure there is more foundation or vocational training available to keep Plymouth-trained students in the region once they qualify.