GDC report critical of Queen's University dental school

The dental school at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, has been chastised by the U.K. regulatory body that oversees oral health professionals, according to a report from the BBC.

A report released by the General Dental Council (GDC) in October 2011 was critical of senior management at the dental school. Now, after a March reinspection, the GDC has released another report describing a lack of leadership stemming from vacancies at several senior clinical academic posts.

Morale is low and progress has been slow-going since then, the new report noted. The Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree program, while "sufficient," is particularly fragile. The GDC also urged modernization and the hiring of more specialists on the faculty, increased clinical experience in restorative dentistry and oral surgery, and more treatment sessions in orthodontics.

Questions from Queen's University about the report's conclusions delayed its publishing until now, according to the BBC.

Patrick Johnston, dean of the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University, said the report lacked balance and did not acknowledge the steps the school has taken to improve their circumstances, such as recruiting new staff.