| University of Liverpool School of Dentistry | |
| Dean: | Professor Vince Bissell |
| Type: | Dental school |
| Established: | 1860 |
| Location: | Liverpool, Merseyside, England |
| Parent: | University of Liverpool |
The University of Liverpool School of Dentistry is a dental school in Liverpool, England. It is part of the University of Liverpool. The dental school is attached to an associated hospital, which contains more than 160 dental units, where students train on NHS patients under supervised practice from dentists.
The dental school has its origins in the Liverpool Dispensary for Diseases of the Teeth founded by Captain W J Newman at 82 Russell Street in 1860.[1] It became the Liverpool Dental Hospital in 1863 and moved to 29 Russell Street before moving to 50 Mount Pleasant in 1879 and finally to Pembroke Place in 1910.[1] The Liverpool Dental Hospital merged with Liverpool University Dental School to form the Liverpool University Dental Hospital in 1920.[1] W H Gilmour, the fourth dean, obtained the first professorship in dentistry in the UK.[1] Other innovations include the first Parodontal (the forerunner of periodontology) Department in 1936 and the first Professor of Dental Sciences (Prof R Hartles) in 1963.
The facility was completely rebuilt in 1969.[1] In 2003 Cynthia Pine became the first woman to lead a British dentistry school. The hospital currently accommodates approximately 160 dental chairs, within six teaching clinics for Restorative, Paediatric and Prosthetic Dentistry.[2]
The Dental School offers a five-year undergraduate course, and a graduate entry four-year pathway, with work being undertaken on an integrated BSc that integrates with the first 3 years of the BDS programme. Liverpool Dental School is a member of the Dental Schools Council.[3]
The museum has amassed a collection of artifacts reflecting the changing world of dentistry up to the present day. A collection of early textbooks on dentistry, instruments and dental furniture are also included. Until 2006 these were all housed in the Edwards Building, attached to the hospital; but the collection has moved to the university with some of this being on display in the Victoria Gallery & Museum located on the Liverpool Campus.[4]
Liverpool Dental School research focuses on a wide range of discipline specific themes which are mainly embedded within the postgraduate professional Doctorate (DDSc) programme as well as educational research.