University of Liverpool School of Dentistry

The School of Dentistry is committed to high quality research that will enhance both the academic and clinical aspects of Clinical Dentistry. Laboratory-based research is conducted in a purpose-built Research Wing, provided from an endowment by Richard Edwards, Dean of the School, 1888-1898. This building houses specialised laboratories for biochemistry, tissue culture, cell biology, molecular biology, histopathology and microbiology, as well as materials-science based laboratories shared with the Department of Clinical Engineering.
Resources for conducting the School's Research Programme are obtained from grants and contracts with Research Councils, the World Health Organisation, the EC, the Wellcome Trust, medical charities and industry. The value of new grant/contract income awarded since January 2001 is in excess of 見3.2 million. These sources provide for short-term research appointments and PhD studentships, as well as equipment and materials.
The School's research is organised within 7 groups: Biomaterials, Cariology, Connective Tissues, Dental Public Health and Primary Dental Care, Microbiology, Oncology & Secretory Tissues
The Liverpool Dental Hospital began training dentists in 1861, receiving full recognition from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1876. The Dental School was incorporated into the University of Liverpool in 1899. The University established the Louis Cohen Chair in Dental Surgery in 1920 as the first professorship in dentistry in the UK and Liverpool was one of the first universities in Britain to recognise the importance of science and research in dentistry by founding a Chair in Dental Science in 1963. Dental education and research in Liverpool has, therefore, a long and innovative tradition.
The University's School of Dentistry is closely integrated with the Liverpool University Dental Hospital, which is part of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust and is housed in a building on the Pembroke Place area of the University Campus.
Apart from the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), the School also offers taught postgraduate courses for the Master in Dental Science (MDentSci) in most of the clinical dental disciplines. The School also enrols postgraduate research students for the degrees of MDS, MPhil and PhD. Undergraduate students with a particular aptitude may interrupt their dental course for one year in order to study for an intercalated BSc. Recent intercalated students have studied cell biology, physiology and psychology. The School of Dentistry also offers Diploma programmes in Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene. The Hospital is involved in the education Dental Nurses and Dental Laboratory Technicians. All these training programmes for the professions complementary to dentistry proceed in parallel with that of the BDS students.
The School has close links with the offices of the Regional Postgraduate Dental Dean, who is concerned with the higher training of specialists in dentistry and with the continuing education required of all dentists working within the National Health Service. In particular, the Postgraduate Dean, Dr Brian Grieveson. is responsible for the Vocational Training year which is mandatory for all new dental graduates entering practice in the NHS, and will assist recent graduates in obtaining their first placements in general dental practice.
The School's Museum of Dentistry was started in 1880 and has continued without interruption until the present day. Because of its long history, it contains many early dental artefacts, not least of these being the collection of early dentures, now thought to be one of the most important in the world. Other items include early documents such as Apprentice indentures, research and teaching material connected with famous figures in the history of dentistry such as Cryer, Gottlieb and Gysi, as well as material of a more modern nature. There is also a collection of early textbooks on dentistry and a large collection of dental instruments and furniture. These are all housed in the School of Dentistry, Edwards Building, where part of the collection is on permanent display.