Stephen Morgan MP has welcomed the University of Portsmouth’s (UoP) award of Dental Authority Status (DAS), a key step toward tackling the city’s severe shortage of NHS dentists.
Granted by the Department of Health and Social Care, DAS is a mandatory requirement for institutions seeking to deliver dentistry degrees. The status positions UoP to establish the South-East of England’s first dental school, subject to securing funded student places.
The announcement comes as the government begins rolling out major NHS dentistry reforms aimed at expanding urgent care and prioritising patients with complex needs. Local leaders say a new dental school would help deliver those reforms by training dentists locally and improving long-term workforce supply.
UoP’s existing Dental Academy already trains dental nurses, hygienists and therapists. With DAS now in place, the University can offer dentistry degrees once a dental school is formally approved.
Portsmouth currently has the lowest number of NHS dentists per 100,000 people in the region, leaving many residents unable to access routine care. Government data shows nearly a quarter of patients in the South-East who sought an NHS dentist in the past two years were unsuccessful.
Mr Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said the development marked a “turning point” for local patients and praised the University’s role in addressing what he described as a long-standing “dental desert.”
Training dentists in Portsmouth, he said, would help build a sustainable NHS dental workforce rooted in the community.
University Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Galbraith CBE described DAS as a landmark achievement and said the institution was ready to train future dental professionals in one of England’s most underserved areas.
The University is now awaiting confirmation of how many new dentistry student places the government will fund nationally. The Office for Students will then allocate places through a competitive process. If successful, Portsmouth could welcome its first dental students as early as September, potentially becoming one of the first new UK dental schools in two decades.
UoP’s Dental Academy, opened in 2005 and upgraded in 2023, features advanced simulation technology, digital scanners, CBCT imaging and CAD/CAM facilities. Staff and students also provide community outreach, including free dental health services and school-based oral health programmes.
