Peter Aldous joined fellow Suffolk MPs to visit the new state-of-the-art dental facilities being developed at the University of Suffolk.

The MPs had a preview tour of the University’s Centre for Dental Development which includes new teaching rooms for its BSc Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy. They also visited the dental practice rooms which will be operated by the University of Suffolk Dental Community Interest Company which is housed in the same building.

The MPs were shown round by University Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Langton, who said:

“This innovative partnership between the NHS and the University of Suffolk will help to develop a sustainable and multi-skilled dental care workforce for the future that will contribute to supporting the oral health needs of our population in Suffolk.

“It is a fantastic example of how universities can work with employers to develop skills and the future workforce alongside meeting the needs of their local community.”

The first cohort of students on the Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy course started their studies this week.

The new NHS dental practice is still being equipped and recruiting its new team and expects to offer its first appointments after Easter.

It will focus on the patients in Suffolk and Northeast Essex in greatest need and will eventually provide an additional 18,000 hours of NHS dental appointments a year.

When the service is up and running, it will treat patients referred by NHS 111, improving access to dental and oral health care for local people. It will also offer placements for the students on their degree programmes which is an important part of their learning.

Lorraine Mattis, CEO of the Dental CIC, said:

“We cannot singlehandedly solve the NHS dental access issues in this area, but we will make a real difference to those in greatest need and support the community by delivering the best possible dental care and driving oral health improvements.”

Peter Aldous MP said:

“Access to NHS dentistry has been a major challenge for my constituents for some time.

“It’s encouraging and exciting to see the University of Suffolk taking significant steps to address the problems, both in the short term by providing access to dentists through the Community Interest Company for patients who need to see a dentist and, in the long term, by training dental professionals.”

For more information, please visit www.uos.ac.uk