The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is celebrating 10 years of training the next generation of dentists.
When the university opened its doors 10 years ago it became one of the first new dental schools in England for more than 100 years.
Over the last 10 years it has trained 224 dentists and treated over 23,000 patients.
‘Over the last 10 years many of the initial aims of the school have been fulfilled, helping patients and creating a vibrant dental academic community,’ NHS England deputy chief dental officer and UCLan honorary professor, Eric Rooney, said.
‘Our population, their needs, and the way we care for them is changing and UCLan is well placed to develop and adapt over the next 10 years and beyond.’
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Helping the community
UCLan boasts a state-of-the-art, £5.25 million dental school, with one of the most sophisticated phantom head rooms in Europe.
It is one of the few universities in the country to have its own on-campus dental clinic.
UCLan was one of the first universities to offer local community dental education centres, found in areas of high need and poor oral health, rather than being trained in city centre hospitals.
‘The university set up the school as a direct response to the needs of the region’s healthcare economy when the Government made a clear commitment to improving access to NHS dental services,’ Angela Magee, head of the UCLan School of Dentistry, said.
‘What we have achieved over the last 10 years is phenomenal, producing more than 220 fully qualified dentists who have gone onto work in the NHS and filling a skills gap in areas of the region that lacked local dental services.
‘We want to celebrate our role in the wider community, to which our staff, students and alumni continue to contribute.
‘We’ve come a long way in a relatively short space of time and not only is the anniversary event a celebration of our joint achievements, it is also an opportunity to focus on future developments as we expand our teaching programmes and research portfolio.’
