The British Dental Association raised concerns that the 25 new dental training places being created at the University of East Anglia’s school is unlikely to do much to end the so-called “dental desert”.
Advocates of the school, which will take on its first students next year, have said it has the potential to help ease the situation which makes it impossible for many in Norfolk to get NHS dental treatment.
The thinking is that some of those who do their training at the new school – at the Edith Cavell building at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital – will go on to work as NHS dentists in Norfolk.
But Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association (BDA), said: “New dental schools are a step forward but are no silver bullet for ending dental deserts.
“Keeping even this tiny number of new graduates in the NHS hinges on making the service a place dentists would choose to build a career.
“That means real reform, wedded to sustainable funding.”
The BDA says the 58 dental school places currently offered at a dental school in Plymouth have done “little to take the edge off the South West’s chronic access issues”.
The BDA says a reform of NHS contracts and a “sustainable funding settlement” is needed if the crisis in dentistry is to be tackled.
Labour has pledged to deliver fundamental reform of NHS contracts, with a new model of care set to go to public consultation this summer.
A University of East Anglia spokesperson said: “We welcome the recognition that expanding dental training capacity is a positive step, but we agree it is not, in isolation, a complete solution to the challenges facing NHS dentistry.
“Through our on-campus, solely NHS dental practice serving students and staff, we see firsthand the pressures facing the system, including the constraints of the current NHS dental contract.
“Recruitment is harder in a region as large as the East of England without local training pathways, so expanding dental education here is a key step toward building a sustainable workforce.
“We remain committed to working with partners across the system to ensure that increased training capacity translates into improved access to NHS dental care for our region and beyond.”
The Department of Health and Social Care did not respond to a request for comment.
But, in a column written for this newspaper this week, health minister Stephen Kinnock said: “By bringing dental education to Norfolk for the first time, we are putting down roots for a stronger NHS dental workforce right here in the East of England.
“On top of this, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period – meaning that patients can have the reassurance that the staff is there to provide the care they need.”