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Dental student surge continues
11th Sep 2006
Student numbers are expected to grow
The number of aspiring dentists to begin their training this year will match 2005’s record-breaking intake, the Government has forecast. The Department of Health (DoH) said it expected October’s dental school intake to be ‘approximately’ as large as last year’s 848. That figure represented a 25% rise on 2004, when 674 students were admitted to England’s nine dental schools. Figures published by the Government show that before last year’s boost, the annual intake had remained relatively stable – ranging from 600 to 685 – for more than a decade. Last year's jump, the largest in recent times, was part of a concerted effort by the Government to tackle a long-term shortage of NHS dentists. The DoH said creating 170 extra training places was one of a range of measures taken to strengthen NHS dentistry. But it accepted there was still a shortfall of roughly 1,000 practitioners. A DoH spokeswoman said: ‘Our moves to tackle the shortage are well documented. We introduced a new contract which is proving popular with dentists able to increase their patient lists. 'We encouraged them to stay in the NHS, increased the number of student places and held a short-term recruitment programme to recruit back the whole-time equivalent of 1,100 dentists back into the NHS.’ The British Dental Association (BDA) warned that the gap would take several years to fill. A spokeswoman said: ‘We welcome this increase in dental student numbers but it will take five or six years for them to come on stream. ‘Under the new cash-limited contract neither patients nor dentists will benefit unless the Government matches the funding accordingly.’ The largest dental school in England is at Kings College, London. In 1993, the earliest year covered by the Government figures, 157 students began training there. Last year the college admitted 168 new students. After Kings, the largest schools are at the University of Newcastle – with 98 new students last year – and the Universities of Birmingham, Liverpool and Queen Mary in London – all of which admitted 90. The school with the largest increase in student places between 2004 and 2005 was at the University of Leeds, which recorded a 63% rise from 52 to 85. Other schools with large increases were the University of Bristol (58%), Queen Mary (55%) and University of Liverpool (50%). The only dental school whose intake declined between 2004 and 2005 was at the University of Manchester, where numbers fell from 79 to 59. From Autumn 2007, the new Peninsula Dental School will open with 64 student places spread over three sites in Devon and Cornwall. The average cost of training a dentist is £160,000 over a five-year course – or £32,000 per year. The total cost of training the 3,500 students in dental schools in England in 2005/6 was £112 million. The number of students who finished their courses and registered as professional dentists was 553 in 2003, 579 in 2004 and 605 in 2005. By Andy Tate, parliamentary correspondent
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