New Plymouth Dental Education Practice Welcomes Its First Patients
Our new Dental Education Practice in Plymouth City Centre is providing treatment in urgent need of help from 9th February 2026.
In collaboration with the University of Plymouth, the £5 million clinic sees aspiring dentists and dental therapists caring for patients without an NHS dentist who are suffering with pain, infection or trauma, by appointment only with referral via NHS 111.
The facility will deliver up to 12,000 dental appointments per year and increase access to urgent care.
Madga Farrant was one of the first patients in the new Dental Education Practice. She said:
“I came to the dental school a few months ago in desperate need of help and had one of my follow up appointments today.
“The days of being able to have two NHS check ups a year just don’t happen now, so to have something as accessible as this is amazing.
“The students have been wonderful too, and I’m really pleased to be able to support their education.”
The clinic is run by Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise (PDSE), and enables final-year students from Peninsula Dental School to work alongside specialists and other qualified clinicians to offer high-quality care. For more information on the services available at the Dental Education Practice, please refer to our website: www.peninsuladental.org.uk/clinics/plymouth-city-centre/
Work on the development began just over a year ago, as we took a 20-year lease on Plymouth City Council’s former First Stop Shop in New George Street.
And the opening follows cross-party calls from Plymouth’s MPs to increase the number of dental students at the University.
“Our state-of-the-art Dental Education Practice is the result of many years’ hard work and a long-held aspiration to provide significantly more urgent dental care and oral healthcare in the heart of our home city.
Plymouth graduates are renowned in the workplace, not only for their caring manner and high-quality training, but also for the levels of hands-on clinical experience they have when they qualify.
Our new world-class practice allows specialist and qualified dentists to work with undergraduate and postgraduate students; together they will provide outstanding patient care in an accessible high street setting. And, by working with some of the patients who are in most need of treatment, all of them will broaden their experience across a wide range of clinical disciplines, such as oral surgery and emergency dental care.
I would like to sincerely thank colleagues across the whole University of Plymouth and its Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise for all of their hard work and commitment in bringing this important health care innovation to fruition.” – Ewen McColl, Head of Peninsula Dental School.
A Dental Task Force led by Plymouth City Council was set up to respond to this ongoing issue, with the University and PDSE at the core. Following discussions with stakeholders across the city, plans were announced for a new Dental Education Practice in 2025.
“This is a big day for the city centre and for the Dental Task Force. This new facility will enable trainee dentists to get hands-on experience right in the heart of the city centre and will hopefully encourage them to join the NHS once they have finished their course. One of our key priorities as a Council is to work with our partners to provide better access to dentistry and to start tackling the dental desert. Training more dentists here in Plymouth is a huge step in the right direction.” – Councillor Mary Aspinall, Plymouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care and Chair of the Plymouth Dental Taskforce
“This is a really positive step for Plymouth. The practice will make a tangible difference for patients who need care quickly, while giving students are trainees the real-world experience they need to become confident, skilled dental professionals. It supports the Government’s neighbourhood health ambitions by bringing care closer to communities and helping build a stronger dental workforce for the future.” – Jason Wong MBE, Chief Dental Officer for England
A track record of care
PDSE, as the University’s student clinical placement provider, currently operates from four clinics across Devon and Cornwall, with two in Plymouth and one each in Truro and Exeter.
Within those clinics, more than 430 students on the University’s Dental Surgery and Dental Therapy and Hygiene programmes work alongside experienced staff to hone their skills, and in the past year, they provided well over 35,000 appointments to more than 8,000 patients.
Those facilities are already running at capacity, so the new practice will enable more students to learn the skills they will need to succeed in their careers.
It will also provide a fundamentally different teaching experience from the current facilities by expanding clinical teaching in a setting that simulates a real dental practice as opposed to a large teaching facility.
Ellie Orum is a newly qualified dentist from Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise is working at the Dental Education Practice as part of her foundation training. Ellie commented: “It really feels like I’m coming full circle, back to treat patients on behalf of the organisation where I learned my skills.
I went into dentistry as I wanted a career staying in the South West, and I’m really passionate about offering urgent care.
When I was at school, I originally wanted to be a lawyer, then decided to swap one of my A Levels to Chemistry and apply for dentistry. I remember having patient contact from early on in my degree and it makes a huge difference in having the skills and confidence to go and treat people.
I’m proud to be associated with a University that’s making a difference for local people, and hope the new facility will go some way to helping more of those who really need it.”
Hear what our final year students had to say on opening day here.
For more information on the services available at the Dental Education Practice, please refer to our website: www.peninsuladental.org.uk/clinics/plymouth-city-centre/ or contact pdse-info@plymouth.ac.uk
