New dental education centre opens in London

A new dental education centre has opened its doors in London.

The centre aims to improve clinical standards and training in modern approaches to the delivery of dental and oral health care for London.

It will also improve clinical leadership among dental professionals via continuous personal and professional development.

The new £2 million London Dental Education Centre (LonDEC) was officially opened by Professor Ann Keen MP, parliamentary under secretary of state for health services in the presence of Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer for England, on 30 June.

 

This dedicated high specification facility is a joint enterprise between London Deanery, working as part of NHS London and King’s College London.

 

The Centre is based in the Franklin-Wilkins building, Waterloo Campus, King’s College London.

 

It comprises a comprehensive training suite, including a dental skills training room equipped with 26 state-of-the-art clinical simulation units.

 

This will greatly enhance the acquisition of new clinical skills amongst the practitioners who will benefit from the availability of LonDEC. The Centre also offers eight operating microscopes to enable high quality dentistry.

 

LonDEC has a full immersion simulation suite for team training in both infection control and the management of medical emergencies both of which are key to patient safety.

 

London Deanery will provide training in both aspects for all dental foundation trainees and as part of continuing professional development for all dental team members in both primary and secondary care settings.

 

The suite has a fully equipped dental surgery with a mannequin that can be programmed to simulate emergencies which may be encountered in dental practice.

 

LonDEC will be available as an education and training facility for lecture and hands-on training, as well as being the centre for some of the Masters degree programmes run by the King’s College London Dental Institute.

 

Elizabeth Jones, dean of postgraduate dentistry said: ‘This is a very exciting initiative for London and I am delighted that it has come to fruition. It will give dentists and dental care professionals a state-of-the-art environment in which to learn new skills and to practise what to do in emergency situations. Dentists and dental team members will also be able to learn together in the key areas of decontamination and cross infection control which will ultimately improve patient safety.”

 

Professor Nairn Wilson, dean and head of the Dental Institute at King’s said: ‘The Dental Institute is delighted to be working in partnership with London Deanery to create a state-of-the-art education centre to enhance hands-on training and related continuing professional development for all members of the dental team. It is hoped that LonDEC will be a platform on which to develop and build innovations in lifelong learning of immediate practical relevance to the clinical practice of dentistry.’

The LonDEC facilities are also available for hire to interested parties. Booking availability and further information can be found by contacting Bill Sharpling, Director, LonDEC at [email protected]

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