Dentistry

There has been a Dental School & Hospital in Glasgow since 1879. The School was first established within the Faculty of Medicine of Anderson’s College, following the Dentist’s Act of 1878, which stipulated that all entering the dental profession after 1 August 1879 should possess a diploma or licence to practise from a licensing body. The first session, on which 20 students enrolled, commenced in June 1879 and successful candidates were awarded the Licence in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow. Control of the School was transferred to the University of Glasgow in 1947 and the Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree approved in 1948. The present Dental Hospital & School comprises the 1931 building in Renfrew Street linked to a larger extension opened in 1970 with its front entrance onto Sauchiehall Street. A feasibility study led by the NHS for a major re-design of these premises is currently underway.

The Dental School now has an annual intake of approximately 90 undergraduate students per year. In 2004, it launched a completely revised undergraduate curriculum, which provides close integration of biomedical sciences and clinical teaching and incorporates significant outreach teaching for senior students. In recent years, more than 90% of those who graduated from the School entered NHS practice in Scotland.

The School also offers a taught postgraduate programme, the MSc (Dent Sci) in Primary Dental Care and M Phil programmes in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, and Restorative Dentistry. Additional specialty programmes will be added in future years

The School pursues a research agenda which is focused on three areas, Biotechnology & Craniofacial Sciences, Community Oral Health and Infection & Immunity, all of which have significant public health relevance and map onto priorities for the Scottish Government and the Scottish public.  Major national policies linked to issues such as prevention of oral disease in childhood and infection control measures in dentistry have been heavily influenced by recent research in Glasgow.   

Further information can be found on the Dental School homepage.

In a recent Times Online Good University Guide, Glasgow was ranked second in the UK Dental School League Table.