UEA welcomes Government's new dentistry training places aimed at tackling ‘dental deserts’
By: Communications
The University of East Anglia (UEA) has welcomed today’s Government announcement of 50 additional dentistry training places.
In the first sustained expansion in nearly two decades, the new training places will be targeted at areas known as ‘dental deserts’.
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.
UEA believes that directing new training places to regions with the most acute shortages will be vital if the national NHS dentistry crisis is to be addressed.
The Norwich-based university intends 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: “UEA’s civic mission is central to our ambition for new dentistry provision. 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.”
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