Construction of the $14 million University of Portsmouth Dental Academy is on schedule and will begin training students in September, according to the university.
Located on the southern coast of England, the academy is the beginning of an innovative partnership between the University of Portsmouth and the King's College London Dental Institute with funding from the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS).
For the first time, student dentists will be trained in teams alongside dental hygienists, dental therapists, and dental nurses, mirroring how dental professionals work in practice.
The new facility is next to the university's School of Professionals Complementary to Dentistry and will provide first-class training facilities.
The building will add an additional 20 dental chairs, a radiography suite, and a state-of-the-art instrument decontamination center to current university facilities.
Since 2007, the University's William Beatty Dental Service has provided the public with NHS dental services by staff dentists and students. In September, the current chargeable service will close and a new service will open offering free dental care to qualified patients.
Dental care will be provided by senior-year dental undergraduate students from the King's College London Dental Institute and student therapists, hygienists, and dental nurses from the University of Portsmouth. All students will treat patients under supervision of qualified dental tutors.
Dental treatment at the new facility will include oral health promotion, fillings and preventive treatment, gum treatment, crowns and bridgework, dentures, and root canal fillings, but will not include complex or cosmetic treatments.
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