Plymouth MPs launch campaign for more dental training places
A proposed increase would allow the University to take on 25% more dental students each year

Increasing dental student places from 58 to 72 will allow school leavers highly sought after places at dental school. This education funding will create a virtuous circle in not only training the future dental workforce, but allowing further access to treatment for patients across the South West.
Professor Ewen McColl
Head of Peninsula Dental School
Plymouth’s dental school is the best in England. The crisis in dentistry has been decades in the making but there simply isn’t a fix that doesn’t involve training more dentists. We are brilliant at this and that’s why I want to see a huge increase in student places at our dental school to train the next generation of South West dentists.
Peninsula Dental School is an incredible institution which trains the dentists of the future. They are a key part of tackling the crisis in dentistry that we have in the city. But they know they can go further, and they want to, by training even more dentists every year. This is where the government needs to step in and allocate them additional dental student training places – so that PDSE can continue to grow and we can continue to tackle the dentistry crisis in Plymouth – and I hope they will respond positively to our request.
Every week I speak to people in South West Devon who are in pain, struggling to find an NHS dentist, and feeling like they’ve been left behind. The Peninsula Dental School is already changing lives, but they have the potential to do so much more. This is about ensuring that people in Plymouth and the wider region can get the care they deserve, and I’m proud to back this call for investment in our city’s future.