A state-of-the-art, £5.8 million dental centre, which is set to be built in Barking, London will provide care for over 5,000 NHS patients every year as well as training for 130 dental students.
The facility will aim to tackle the rise in periodontal disease across the Barking area, where residents currently face a lack of available dentists. According to its initial application to Barking and Dagenham Council, the hub said it will provide “free at the point of use” dental care to “those who need it most and who cannot currently gain access”.
Patients will be offered “year-round community based primary dental and urgent care appointments, connecting dental students to under-served communities in Barking and Dagenham”.
According to NHS figures, two in five children living in the Barking area suffer from periodontal disease, whilst as many as 80% of 18 to 34 year-olds have no access to NHS dental care.
Vice principal of health at Queen Mary’s, Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, said: “By bringing world-class dental education directly into the community, we are removing long-standing barriers to access and ensuring those who need care the most can receive it free of charge, close to home.”
The centre, which will be joint funded by Barking and Dagenham Council and Queen Mary University of London, will create around 44 jobs and will also run Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes for dental students.
Professor Caulfield said the hub will provide a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform oral health and wider wellbeing for the residents of Barking and Dagenham”.
