A university has been granted £1.5 million in funding to offer courses in dental hygiene and therapy next year.
From 2026, the University of Lincoln will open the new Lincolnshire Institute of Dental and Oral Health, which will take on around 30 students in its first year.
The funding will allow the university to redevelop existing facilities to create bespoke clinical teaching spaces, equipped with the latest digital and simulation technology.
It will teach a new BSc in dental hygiene and therapy alongside a foundation course designed to upskill dental nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Lincolnshire currently ranks among the worst regions in the UK for access to NHS dental care.
Dental hygiene training to ‘tackle skills gaps’
The mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, said she hopes this will set the path for further education opportunities in dentistry.
‘The long-term hope is that the university can eventually host a dental school to address the shortage of dentists,’ she said.
Professor Neal Juster, vice chancellor of the University of Lincoln, said: ‘We are delighted to have secured this grant funding which will support the establishment of the new Lincolnshire Institute of Dental and Oral Health at the University of Lincoln.
‘Across Greater Lincolnshire we have a strong track record of organisations coming together to respond to local needs, tackling skills gaps, supporting growth, improving services, and expanding educational and career opportunities for local people.
‘We are grateful for the confidence and commitment shown by the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority and local partners in enabling this project to benefit people across the region.’
Calls for training places
This comes as the Dental Schools Council makes calls for more training places in dentistry and dental hygiene to help secure long-term sustainability of NHS dentistry.
It argues that with growing regional disparities in access to care, the UK is facing a ‘critical shortfall’ in meeting its dental needs.
Its report includes a number of recommendations, including:
- A government commitment to increasing UK training places in both dentistry, dental hygiene and dental therapy
- Reform to the NHS dental contract, enhanced retention incentives and clearer career progression
- A more strategic distribution of training places and targeted outreach to underrepresented regions.
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