A new £3.2 million investment, the Kenworthy Road Dental Clinic, was opened on 31 January by England's Interim Chief Dental Officer Dr Jason Wong MBE, to provide free services in Hackney and nearby areas - a place where dental decay is prevalent and access to care is in high demand.

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The state-of-the-art facility will provide a fit for purpose training ground for 300 university students each year. The students, supported by qualified dentists, will provide around 7,000 appointments per year for the local community.

The clinic has already proved a success with over 1,000 patients registered. Due to this overwhelming response, new registrations are now closed until early spring 2024.

Christopher Tredwin, Dean and Director of the Institute of Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London said: ‘This new clinic will train the UK's next generation of dentists. Thanks to the high-tech equipment and opportunity for students to treat patients, this clinic will ensure undergraduates have the best opportunities to meet their clinical requirements while providing dental care to the community.'

Zahra Shehabi, Project Lead/Clinical Sustainability Fellow, Barts Health NHS Trust said: ‘We've embedded sustainable and modern design throughout the development of this clinic and will also be sourcing sustainable materials to ensure the facility is as green as possible.'

Wendy Farrington-Chadd, Chief Executive Officer from Community Health Partnerships (CHP) said: ‘Free dental care has never been more important in times where the NHS is facing huge pressures and capital funding is constrained. CHP's £3.2 million capital investment will allow the delivery of additional dental appointments, closer to home, whilst enabling students from Queen Mary's Institute of Dentistry to thrive in a modern and fit for purpose healthcare facility'.