News / May 20, 2024

New dental degree in Ireland receives regulatory support

Plans to launch a new Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree in Ireland have progressed, with the course having received the necessary regulatory support to begin in 2025.

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences has received regulatory support from the Dental Council to launch a new Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree in Ireland. The programme will commence in September 2025 with student recruitment beginning shortly.

The Bachelor of Dental Surgery at RCSI will be the first community-based dentistry degree programme in Ireland.

The programme’s curriculum, which has been developed in partnership with Peninsula Dental School at the University of Plymouth, will equip graduates to deliver excellence in dental care for patients in a primary care setting. This community-based approach has particular benefits for people in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities who often struggle to access dental care.

‘Innovating in response to meet evolving healthcare needs’

Mr Paul Lyons, head of education at the Dental Council, said: ‘RCSI is to be congratulated on the work that has been completed to date on this emerging programme. The Dental Council looks forward to continuing to engage with RCSI for the duration of the programme’s further development and roll-out.’

Professor Albert Leung, head of the School of Dentistry at the RCSI, said: ‘We welcome the Dental Council’s support for this landmark new degree programme, and we look forward to continuing to engage closely with the Dental Council as the programme is rolled out.

‘We have a chronic shortage of dentists, a situation that negatively impacts both the oral and general health. RCSI’s new Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme responds to the need to increase access to dental care and builds on our rich heritage in dental education and track record of innovating in response to meet evolving healthcare needs.’

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