The Dundee Dental Hospital was founded in 1914 and the Dental School in 1916. The Dental Hospital and School have been on the same site in Park Place ever since, on what is now the eastern boundary of the University of Dundee City Campus.

Guests at the Centenary dinner (l-r) Professor Philip Lumley (Birmingham), Margie Taylor (Chief Dental Officer for Scotland), Professor Sir Pete Downes, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee, Professor Callum Youngson (Liverpool), Professor Jimmy Steele (Newcastle), Professor Sir David Mason, Professor Mike Lewis (Cardiff), Professor June Nunn (Dublin), Professor Mark Hector (Dundee), Professor Jon Cowpe (Wales PG Deanery), Professor Paul Speight (Sheffield)

Dentistry in Dundee has a very strong record of public care and public education and that remains at the core of what we do now; that same spirit of civic-mindedness and striving to improve society's health that led to the founding of the Dental Hospital and Dental School remains very much alive 100 years on.

Looking back to the 1920s and 30s, one of the most influential figures in dentistry, MacPherson Fisher, was based here at Dundee, from where he founded the School Dental Service, two decades before the NHS came into existence. His work persuaded the British Dental Association to run a seven-year public health survey on the status of dental health of schoolchildren across the UK, which found that at least 90% had diseased mouths, with the poorest being worst affected. That was a major piece of work that influenced dental care in the UK and around the world. It is possible to draw a line from those origins right through to the work going on here now, both in terms of educating the next generations of dentists but also in research that is very much aimed at helping people across society and transforming lives.

To celebrate the first hundred years we hosted a series of 'Centenary Lectures' delivered by alumni of the School and to publish a 'History' of the Dental Hospital and School. Dr Gavin McKay led a small group of former colleagues to research and write a 35,000 word illustrated history of the dental hospital and school. Dundee Dental Hospital and School: Transforming lives for 100 years details the fascinating history of the discipline in Dundee – from the beginning of dentistry as a public service in 1914 and the birth of Scotland's first university-based School of Dentistry in 1916, its fight against closure (1987-9) through to the present day. It paints a picture of a pioneering school that continues to have a profound impact on the ways in which dentistry is delivered locally and taught all around the country.

Whilst planning this series it became apparent that a number of deans and heads of dental schools, postgraduate deaneries and a Dean of Dental Faculty at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh were Dundee alumni. Over the course of 16 months Professors Bill Saunders, Jimmy Steele, Ferranti Wong, Jon Cowpe, Paul Speight, Mike Lewis, June Nunn, Philip Lumley and Callum Youngson visited Dundee. Since the summer, Professor Chris Deery has become head of Sheffield Dental School and Professor Graham Ogden has been elected Dean of Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, both of whom are Dundee alumni.

On 10 June 2016, following the last of our lecture series, we celebrated with a Civic Reception hosted by Dundee Lord Provost (Bob) and a Centenary Dinner hosted by the Dundee and St Andrews Dental Alumnus Society (President Professor Peter Mossey) held at the Apex Hotel in Dundee. We were fortunate enough to be joined by several of our centenary lecturers, Margie Taylor, the Chief Dental Officer for Scotland, Professor Pete Downes, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee and Professor Sir David Mason.