New £17 million dental school opens - graduate jobs

A new dental school in Scotland will train 20 postgraduate students a year in an area with a waiting list reaching 31,000 patients, it has been announced.

The Aberdeen Dental School's new centre was officially opened by First Minister Alex Salmond and Public Health Minister Shona Robison.

The Scottish Government said the school, affiliated to the University of Aberdeen, will bring more people into the dental profession in Scotland. Across the country there are more than 3,000 dentists at work in local practices and in hospitals.

A University of Aberdeen spokeswoman said the the Scottish Funding Council will pay for the postgraduate students to be trained. Since 2008, the students have studied at an existing building while waiting for the new £17 million facility to be built.

The training of the post graduate students comes as NHS Grampian figures reveal that 31,700 adults are waiting to see a state-registered dentist in the region.

A Grampian NHS spokesman also confirmed national targets for registrations were not being hit in some areas. He said: "The new school is a major development for NHS dentistry in Grampian and will improve access for local patients."