Students from the School of Dentistry at The University of Manchester are helping transform the provision of dental care in less well-off areas of South Manchester.

A collaborative project between the University and Manchester Primary Care Trust is providing state-of-the-art surgeries, so that dental students can offer care to people living in Woodhouse Park in Wythenshawe.

The students will work alongside qualified dentists to provide a comprehensive range of treatments free of charge to residents who are not under the care of an NHS dentist, on an appointment basis.

The outreach scheme will also help educate the budding dentists, who will work alongside qualified practitioners to gain experience of paediatric dentistry, orthodontics and restorative dental treatment.

Housed within the £4.6 million multi-functional Forum Health centre in Wythenshawe and opened by the Chief Dental Officer for England Barry Cockcroft, the centre will offer seven dental surgeries, an X-ray room and its own reception and waiting area. It is the largest in the country within the Department of Health's NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) scheme - which aims to improve and develop frontline primary and community care facilities.

Professor Anthony Blinkhorn OBE, Outreach Director and one of the original team which developed the scheme, said: “Outreach teaching schemes play an important role in providing convenient and accessible NHS dental services to the community. They also give students valuable experience of working within the local area, which often encourages them to choose to practice locally once they have qualified.”