Siân Gwenllian MS Working for the people of Arfon

As well as highlighting the lack of access to dentistry services in Wales, Siân Gwenllian made the  case for a school of dentistry in Bangor.

The MS for Arfon proposed a motion on the floor of the Senedd to call on the Welsh Government to increase the number of university training places for dentists in Wales in order to get to grips with the dentistry crisis in the country.

In a Members debate, Siân Gwenllian MS claimed the shortage of dental services through the NHS was a big issue in her constituency, and took advantage of the opportunity to call for a Dental School in Bangor to train more dentists locally. The motion was passed with 29 voting in favour and 15 abstaining.

Siân Gwenllian claims that her office contacted the six NHS dentists in her constituency in April, and that none of them were taking new NHS patients. According to the MS, increasing the number of university training places in Wales for dentists is essential to see far-reaching improvements in dental healthcare in Arfon and across Wales.

She said:

“The 'Dental Strategic Workforce Plan' shows that Wales is a net importer of dentists. It shows that Wales is reliant on dental schools outside Wales in order to produce sufficient numbers of dentists to recruit to the workforce, and it shows that the UK has the lowest number of dentists per capita compared to other large members of the G7 in Europe.

“We also know that more dentists from Wales leave Wales to study than remain here: 20 staying, 40 leaving. That kind of situation is not sustainable.

“The shortage of dentists here without doubt contributes to and exacerbates the three-tier system that we are moving towards according to the Senedd's own health committee. A three-tier system where some are fortunate to access an NHS dentist, others can pay to go privately, and the third tier, unfortunately, are those who can't access NHS dentistry and can't afford to pay to go privately. I don't have to outline the problems that emerge for those in the third tier. Members are only too familiar with horrific stories about sepsis and do-it-yourself dentistry.

“Now, one would imagine that it's a matter of common sense therefore to increase the number of university training spaces in Wales in order to nurture a workforce to provide this public dental service that is so badly needed. But, to the contrary, the Government sets a cap on the number of places that can be provided in our only school of dentistry in Cardiff, an annual cap of 74 places.

“To turn to the only school of dentistry here in Wales, which is located at Cardiff University, there were 111 out of 1,442, or around 8 per cent, of the candidates for Cardiff school of dentistry for entry in 2023-24 who were from Wales. We know from the most recent data available that eight of the 111 students from Wales were successful in getting a place at that year.

“It’s known that there is a link between where students undertake their fundamental core dental training and where they then work and lay down roots in their formative years.

“There are excellent facilities available in Bangor in the dental academy, although there are initial challenges there, and the Cabinet Secretary has accepted the recommendation of the health committee that a new school of dentistry should be established in north Wales.

“Bangor, without doubt, would be an excellent location that offers itself for a school of dentistry, and the provision could be tailored to meet the needs of an area that combines the urban and the rural.”