Plans for new school of dentistry in Wales

Plans have been unveiled for a new dentistry school in Wales.

A motion has been put forward for the next meeting of Powys County Council to back proposals put forward by Plaid Cymru group leader, Councillor Elwyn Vaughan; and independent councillor, Joy Jones.

The joint initiative, led by Aberystwyth and Bangor universities, would involve establishing dental education centres across the two regions, managed by both universities.

In the motion it notes that Llais, the citizen voice body for health and social care, released a position statement on the Welsh dentistry crisis after hearing from over 12,000 people across Wales about their health and social care issues – with dentistry consistently coming out near the top.

According to Llais: “Over a third of people they spoke to about getting to see dentistry services were not registered with a dentist or were on a waiting list.

“People are travelling further to access NHS dental care with many forced to pay more by turning to private dental care.

“People feel the quality of care available on the NHS is worse than private dental care.

“The current situation is inequitable with those losing out being children, older people, pregnant people, disabled people, those with additional learning needs, and those on a lower income.”