Key Points
- A new £5.8 million state-of-the-art dental centre and training hub is to be built in Barking, east London.
- The centre aims to serve over 5,000 NHS dental patients annually and train 130 dental students each year.
- Funded by Barking and Dagenham Council and Queen Mary University of London, the hub is set to open in September 2026.
- The new facility addresses the area’s significant dental care shortage, with 65% of young children and nearly 80% of 18-34 year olds lacking NHS dental access.
- The centre will help produce more dentists to work nationwide, tackling dental care shortages beyond east London.
- The project will create around 44 local jobs including support roles and dental nursing.
- Oral health experts highlight strong links between oral health and general wellbeing, including diseases like obesity, cardiovascular issues, smoking, and diabetes.
- The centre will be located inside Maritime House in Barking town centre and operate via a community outreach care model.
What is the new dental hub project in Barking?
As reported by Jessica Anderson of the BBC, a new “£5.8m” cutting-edge dental centre and training hub is planned for east London, specifically in Barking. This ambitious project aims to provide NHS dental care to more than 5,000 patients annually and train 130 new dental students every year, addressing a longstanding shortage of dental services in the area.
The hub is being delivered through a partnership between Barking and Dagenham Council and Queen Mary University of London. It is scheduled to open in September 2026 and represents a significant investment in local health infrastructure.
Why is this dental centre needed in Barking?
Dominic Twomey, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, highlighted the critical need for improved dental provision in the borough. As reported by Laura Hughes of The Guardian, Twomey described the area as “under-dentisted,” with recruitment and retention of dentists historically difficult.
The new centre will address this “dental desert” by unlocking access to good-quality NHS dental care for thousands of residents who currently struggle to find services. Twomey added,
“It will help the rest of east London and probably the rest of the country because when the dental students qualify they will be working across the country for years to come – to try and address these dental deserts.”
Official NHS data supports this urgent need: in Barking, 65% of children aged three to five and almost 80% of adults aged 18 to 34 have no access to NHS dental services. Furthermore, two in five children have tooth decay.
How does oral health impact overall wellbeing?
Farida Fortune, professor of medicine relating to oral health at Queen Mary University, explained the importance of oral health to overall health in an interview with The Times. Professor Fortune stated,
“ ‘If you don’t have oral health, you don’t have general health.’”
She highlighted that poor oral health is linked to multiple general health conditions, including obesity, smoking-related illness, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
The centre’s community outreach model is designed to send dental students and professionals into the community, not just to provide dental care, but also to educate people about the connection between oral and general health.
Where will the dental centre be located and how will it operate?
The new centre will occupy two floors of Maritime House, a building located in Barking town centre. The project is mainly funded through the council’s Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy funding programme.
Undergraduate and postgraduate dental students from Queen Mary University will be based at the centre, providing care through a community-based outreach model. This approach is designed to remove barriers that have historically prevented people from accessing dental care.
What benefits will the centre bring to the local community?
Apart from improving dental care provision, the project is expected to create about 44 local jobs, including roles in security, cleaning, and dental nursing, according to spokespersons for the project, as reported in the Evening Standard.
Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, vice principal of health at Queen Mary University of London, emphasised the significance of the project, calling it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform oral health and wider wellbeing for the residents of Barking and Dagenham.” He added,
“By bringing world-class dental education directly into the community, we are removing long-standing barriers to access and ensuring that those who need care the most can receive it free of charge, close to home.”
How will this project impact dental care across the UK?
The training of 130 new dental students annually means that the hub’s impact will extend well beyond Barking and surrounding east London boroughs. As these students qualify and start practising across the UK, they will help address shortages in NHS dental provision nationally.
Council leader Dominic Twomey expressed optimism that this initiative will help tackle dental deserts across the country, potentially improving oral health equity on a wider scale.
