Oral Health News
Will new dental school places improve NHS dental access?
New training places will target areas short of dental care, but patients will need more than extra graduates to see lasting improvements.
By The Smile Editorial Team
Published · 5 min read
Quick answerFifty new dental school places in East Anglia and Portsmouth are intended to improve NHS dental access over time, with training starting from 2027. They will not provide an immediate increase in qualified dentists or guarantee more local NHS appointments.
Not medical advice. General information only. We don't diagnose or treat. Never try dental treatment at home. Always see a dentist about symptoms.
Timeline
3 June 2026
The government announces the allocation of 50 dental training places between East Anglia and Portsmouth.
2027
Training through the expansion is due to begin, with East Anglia confirming plans to start its new course.
2028–2029
A separate expansion of registration examinations is expected to enable up to 2,400 more overseas-trained dentists to join the register annually.
Fifty new dental training places have been allocated to universities in East Anglia and Portsmouth in an effort to improve access to NHS dentistry in areas where appointments are difficult to find. The expansion, announced on 3 June 2026, is due to begin training students from 2027.
For patients, the important distinction is between creating a training place and making an NHS appointment available. A dentistry degree usually takes five years, and graduates’ decisions about where and how they work will help determine whether this investment improves local access.
What happened
The Department of Health and Social Care has allocated 25 places each to the University of East Anglia and the University of Portsmouth. It describes the move as the first sustained expansion of dental school places in almost two decades.
The Office for Students, which regulates higher education in England, was asked to prioritise locations without dentist training. Rural and coastal communities were among the areas targeted because of difficulties accessing NHS care. The allocation means every NHS England region will have a dental school, according to the department.
That regional coverage matters, but it should not be confused with coverage in every town. NHS regions encompass large populations and geographical areas. Having a school within a region does not, by itself, remove travel difficulties or ensure that nearby practices can accept more patients.
What does a training place actually provide?
A dental school place enables a student to train towards qualification as a dentist. Education includes supervised clinical experience, but students are not a substitute for qualified dentists providing independent care. The immediate purpose of these places is to build future workforce capacity.
There is also a distinction between training dentists and commissioning NHS treatment. Universities educate future clinicians; NHS arrangements determine how publicly funded services are provided. The expansion addresses the supply of professionals, while other policies must make it possible for those professionals to deliver NHS care where it is needed.
The announcement concerns England. Dental services and workforce policies are managed separately across the UK, so readers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should not interpret these allocations as a change to their own local services or entitlement to care.
The background
A ‘dental desert’ is shorthand for an area where dental care is hard to access, rather than a clinical term. For an individual patient, the difficulty might be finding a practice accepting NHS patients, travelling to appointments or getting timely treatment when a problem develops.
The rationale for locating training in underserved regions is that students may build professional and personal connections there. Those connections could encourage graduates to stay. That is the government’s intended outcome, not a guarantee that everyone trained locally will remain locally or undertake NHS work.
Why the effect will take time
After the usual five-year dentistry degree, newly qualified dentists commonly undertake a year of dental foundation training before continuing in NHS general dental practice in England. This is a period of supported work in practice. Expanding undergraduate education therefore also creates a need for suitable postgraduate opportunities.
The wider training system needs people as well as places: clinical teachers, supervisors and teams able to support students safely. A larger intake can only translate into well-prepared graduates if education and clinical experience expand alongside it. That makes continuing investment important beyond the initial allocation.
There is another route into the workforce for dentists who trained overseas. The government says an expansion of professional registration examinations is expected to enable up to 2,400 more dentists to join the register annually by 2028–2029. That is a projection about registration capacity, not a confirmed increase in NHS dentists.
Registration with the General Dental Council establishes that a dental professional can practise within the relevant requirements. It does not specify how much NHS work they will do. Counting registered dentists alone therefore cannot tell patients how many NHS appointments will be available in their area.
What people are saying
Health minister Stephen Kinnock’s case for the expansion centres on encouraging trainees to establish themselves in communities that have struggled to access care. His expectation is that locally based education will help patients receive treatment nearer home in the longer term.
The universities have emphasised regional benefits. Portsmouth vice-chancellor Professor Graham Galbraith said the places would help meet a longstanding need for dentist training in the south-east. At East Anglia, vice-chancellor Professor David Maguire confirmed that the university plans to begin its new course in 2027 after several years of preparation.
The Dental Schools Council welcomed the additional places but highlighted the support needed to make expansion work. Its chief executive, Dr Katie Petty-Saphon, pointed to adequate postgraduate training opportunities and continued investment in staff who combine clinical work with teaching and research.
That qualification is important for patients: allocating student places is one stage of building a service, not the whole job. The council also said existing dental schools were sharing expertise with the new programmes on facilities, admissions and education.
The General Dental Council’s role is different from the government’s funding role. Chief executive and registrar Tom Whiting said the regulator had supported both universities in achieving dental authority status and would continue checking programme quality against its standards. Those checks concern whether graduates are ready to practise, rather than whether local NHS waiting times fall.
What happens next
The next step is turning the allocations into functioning courses. Beyond student recruitment, the patient-facing questions will be where graduates work, how much NHS care they provide and whether access improves in communities outside the university cities. Those outcomes will take longer to assess than enrolment numbers.
The government is also pursuing dental contract changes intended to support NHS provision. It says reforms will create longer-term treatment pathways for patients with substantial decay or gum disease, improve payments and require practices to provide a set amount of urgent care. These measures address how care is funded and organised, rather than how dentists qualify.
What patients can do now
If you need an NHS dentist in England, use the NHS website’s practice search and contact practices directly to check availability. You do not have to choose a practice within a fixed catchment area. Ask specifically about NHS appointments: a practice may offer both NHS and private care, with different availability for each.
If you cannot find care, your local integrated care board can provide information about dental services in your area. For an urgent dental problem, contact a dentist; if you cannot reach one or do not have one, use NHS 111. An urgent appointment is not the same as securing ongoing routine care.
Do not wait for workforce expansion if you have persistent toothache, bleeding gums, a mouth sore lasting more than three weeks, loose teeth or worsening symptoms: arrange a dental assessment. Severe swelling affecting breathing or swallowing needs emergency medical help—call 999 or go to A&E.
Related: Private dental complaints: your rights when care goes wrong
Related: Oral pain and dental costs: what explains the link?
Why this matters
For UK readers struggling to find dental care, this is a long-term investment in England’s workforce rather than an immediate route to an appointment. The useful test will be whether more local practices can offer NHS treatment, not simply whether more students enrol. Keep looking for care now, confirm whether an offered appointment is NHS or private, and ask for an explanation of any proposed treatment and costs. Symptoms that persist or worsen need assessment rather than a wait for future service improvements.
Common questions
- Where are the new dental school places?
- The University of East Anglia and the University of Portsmouth have each been allocated 25 places. The expansion targets regions where patients have struggled to access NHS dentistry.
- When will the new dental training start?
- Training through the expansion is due to begin from 2027. The University of East Anglia has confirmed plans to start its new course that year.
- Will the new dental schools make NHS appointments easier to get?
- They could improve access over time, but they will not provide an immediate increase in qualified dentists. The local benefit will depend partly on where graduates work and how much NHS care they deliver.
- How long does it take to train a dentist?
- A dentistry degree usually takes five years. Newly qualified dentists commonly then undertake a year of dental foundation training before continuing in NHS general dental practice in England.
- Does this dental school expansion cover the whole UK?
- No, this allocation concerns England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland manage their dental services and workforce policies separately.
- Can I see an NHS dentist outside my local area?
- Yes, in England you do not have to choose a dental practice within a fixed catchment area. Contact practices directly to check whether they are accepting NHS patients.
- What should I do if I need urgent dental care and have no dentist?
- In England, use NHS 111 if you need urgent dental care and cannot reach a dentist or do not have one. For severe swelling affecting breathing or swallowing, call 999 or go to A&E.
Sources
This article was written by The Smile using the sources listed above. Last updated 9 October 2026. It does not name or recommend brands; sponsorship appears only in clearly labelled panels.
