Head takes shine off new £18m dental school

Published on Tuesday 19 January 2010 21:46

THE director of Scotland's newest dental school has warned that local waiting lists for NHS dentists could increase as a direct result of the opening of the facility.

The new Aberdeen Dental School – officially opened yesterday by First Minister Alex Salmond – has been established at the Foresterhill hospital site in the city to combat the area's chronic shortage of NHS dentists.

The centre, which has been treating NHS patients since June, is set to produce 20 qualified dentists every year, representing a significant increase in the numbers of trained practitioners entering the profession in Scotland.

According to the latest government figures, 31,000 of the 80,000 Scots who are still without an NHS dentist come from the NHS Grampian area.

The government has agreed to waive tuition fees for students at Aberdeen, saving them 7,100 over four years. A range of incentives is being offered to the students to remain in the north east after they graduate.

But Professor Jim Newton, the director of the school, said the facility could become a victim of its own success, encouraging more local residents to apply for registration as more qualified dentists begin working in the area.

Prof Newton said: "I think that, having provided the facility, now people realise there is a potential for NHS care, we may find that the demand may go up. As soon as we start taking people off (the waiting lists] we may find that that encourages more people to come forward to be seen.

"One of the things we have found already is that patients treated here have recommended it to friends and I think we might get more patients in that way."

The course is a four-year graduate entry programme managed by Aberdeen University and Dundee University Dental School.

Mr Salmond said the 17.7 million school would play a "key" role in the Scottish Government's drive to improve the dental service for the people of Scotland.

He said:

"I am confident that this school will become a cornerstone of Scotland's health service and educational tradition, producing highly skilled dentists for many years to come."

He added: "The Scottish Government is committed to reversing the long-term decline in dentists in Scotland. Since March 2007, the number of dentists has risen by more than ten per cent and we are determined to ensure that this trend continues."

Brian Adam, the SNP MSP for Aberdeen North, said the school would help make the long queues of people signing up to a dentist a "thing of the past".

But Liberal Democrat public health spokesman Jamie Stone said:

"For too long, I have had to highlight the lack of NHS dental services, particularly in the Highlands. This is absolutely connected to the training of dentists and for this reason the fact the Aberdeen Dental School will not accept undergraduates is bad news."