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P ortsmouth University’s £9m dental outreach cen- tre, which will train 80 dental students a year, is on schedule to open in September. Up to 3,000 people a year are expected to benefit from its services, which will include oral health advice and all aspects of primary care dentistry including check-ups, fillings, extractions, crowns, bridges and dentures. Portsmouth University ho- pes that the centre will be at the leading edge of dental education, training dentists, dental therapists, hygienists and dental nurses. Student dentists will be trained in teams alongside den- tal hygienists, dental therapists and dental nurses mirroring how dental professionals work in practice. The new centre is an in- novative partnership between the University of Portsmouth and King’s College London’s Dental Institute. It will provide NHS treatment to communities in Portsmouth, South East Hampshire and the Isle of Wight where, in some ar- eas, oral health is significantly poorer than the national average. Dr Barry Cockcroft, chief dental officer, said: “Outreach training has a made a key con- tribution to our programme for the expansion of dental educa- tion, giving students practical ex- perience of treating patients in a community setting. Equally im- portantly, this project is fostering cooperation between two uni- versities with different resources and priorities.” He added: “King’s College has an international reputation for teaching and research in the dental sciences while the Uni- versity of Portsmouth is devel- oping training programmes for dental care professionals in an area where many people have unmet needs for dental treat- ment and support in maintaining good oral health.” Of the £9m capital invest- ment, £3m is from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) strategic de- velopment fund in recognition of the educational innovation of the new centre. The NHS and Department of Health are con- tributing £4m, with the balance from the universities. The new centre will be in- tegrated with the University of Portsmouth’s existing dentistry department to create a new Sch- ool of Dental Education and will provide routine, free National Health Service dental care to adults and children. Final year dental students from King’s College London, in groups of 20, will conduct 10- week supervised clinical place- ments at the centre. Staff from King’s College London Dental Institute will also work at the centre, enabling the local com- munity to benefit from their expertise in specialised aspects of dentistry such as identifying oral cancer. The other partners in the centre will be the Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust, the South Central Stra- tegic Health Authority, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight PCTs and the Guy’s and St Tho- mas’s and King’s College Hospi- tal Trusts. DT A millionaire dentist who took part in the Televi- sion programme, The Se- cret Millionaire, has set up a charity to help disadvantaged children in India. Seema Sharma, was shown on the TV show earlier this year, going undercover in the Mumbai slums in India. Mrs Sharma, who owns a small group of dental practices in London known as Smile Im- pressions Ltd, revealed how she felt despair at the sheer magni- tude of the deprivation she saw. She said: “I was humbled by the dignity, love and generosity of those with so little.” She has now set up a char- ity, The Sharma Foundation, to provide on-going funding for the three projects she decided to help out in India. The Foundation is organising fundraising events in the UK and Henry Schein Minerva, distribu- tor and supplier of dental and healthcare products, is support- ing a charity dinner being held on 30 June in London. The evening will feature a three-course dinner created by Cyrus Todiwala from his award- winning restaurant, The Spice Café in London and will be fol- lowed by comedy and entertain- ment from comedian Paul Sinha. Tickets cost £55 per person or you can buy two for £100. To reserve your place at this charity evening please call Lynn on 0208 2979100. For more information or to see ‘Slumdog Secret Mil- lionaire’ please visit www.see- masharma.co.uk. DT Portsmouth’s new £9m dental outreach centre millionaire dentist sets up charity to help children in India Seema Sharma (right): I was humbled by the dignity, love and generosity of those with so little May 24-30, 2010United Kingdom Edition

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