Wales voted in favour of a motion to establish a new dental school in Bangor following reports of a shortage of dental professionals in north Wales.
Siân Gwenllian, member of the Senedd (MS) for Arfon, stressed referred to the severity of access troubles as a ‘dental crisis in north Wales and beyond’. She added that only 36% of people receive dental treatment through the NHS in north Wales – significantly lower than the 44% across Wales as a whole.
Another issue highlighted was the difficulty of recruiting dentists, with 41% of practices in the Betsi area advertising vacancies.
Gwenllian said there was an ‘opportunity to fill the gaps’ by training more dentists and dental care professionals. There is currently only one dental school in Wales, at Cardiff University. The new proposal would establish a dentistry course at Bangor University, where a medical school was opened in September 2024.
Siân Gwenllian continued: ‘The academic case highlights the potential to create jobs and improve quality of life in north Wales. The commercial case emphasises the school’s potential to attract students, staff and funding. The financial case outlines the potential sources of funding, including government grants, NHS grants, student fees and partnerships. And finally, the regulatory case demonstrates the potential for effective regulation and management.’
She added: ‘A dental school in Bangor would be one other piece added to the jigsaw of establishing Bangor as a centre of excellence for health in Wales. I therefore call on the Welsh Government to commission an outline strategic case for establishing a dental school in Bangor.’
‘Dental services in north Wales are broken’
During the debate, other speakers provided more insight into the dental issues facing Wales. Carolyn Thomas, MS for North Wales, shared personal experiences of her family members being quoted £850 for dental treatment and facing five-month waiting lists.
Conservative MS Sam Rowlands said: ‘We know dental services in north Wales are broken and they need to be fixed. It’s not good enough at the moment.’
Rowlands also supported the motion for a dental school in Bangor, explaining several benefits. He said: ‘I think there’s a real opportunity here for local young people to stay in the area and study dentistry if they so wish to, but also, on the other hand, the opportunity to attract people into the area is important.
‘Then, secondly, as I’ve already mentioned, the ability for them to stay where they’ve studied would make a huge difference to the ability to attract and retain dentists in the area.
‘The third area, I think, of opportunity within this is around economic growth as well. We know that where university-level qualifications are enhanced, that provides a massive stimulus for economic growth.’
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth described the proposal as ‘genuinely exciting’. He also encouraged fast action, saying ‘let us not make the same mistake in terms of delay, delay, delay before moving forward with a dental school’.
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