Sir, as a graduate from the University of Aberdeen Medical School I am delighted to see a dental school opening there. I myself am very keen on a career in oral and maxillofacial surgery and in the not too distant future hope to return to dental school. The North East of Scotland is in desperate need of a dental institute and a facility to train dental surgeons who are committed to treating patients in the region. I hope that this new venture stimulates an excitement among oral health academic staff with interests in research and teaching. Aberdeen University Forresterhill campus has some cutting edge research facilities in the form of the Institute of Medical Science, and also the new Matthew Hay teaching and learning centre.

What is of interest to your readers is that in 1946 The Final Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Dentistry,1 or the Teviot Report, was published. This report commented on, among other things, the provision of dental services in the North East of Scotland and suggested that the University of Aberdeen should consider the opening of a dental school.2,3

This is of relative interest to me, as my great grandfather, Thomas Rankin OBE QHDS FDS (1884-1959) was on this committee. Tom Rankin was a consulting dental surgeon at the Ballochmyle and Bangour Plastic Surgery and Jaw Injury Unit during the Second World War. He was also the first lecturer in maxillofacial injuries at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School.

The creation of this new dental school in an already established university with a strong record in biomedical research and medical education is a great thing which I hope is fully utilised by patients, researchers and educationalists. I also hope that the dental school looks into the various services it can offer to the North East of Scotland. I hope that the university and the Scottish Parliament seek out appropriate experts in their fields for this new endeavour.