Queen Mary strengthens partnership with Barking and Dagenham Council

The transformative project, supported by £4.1m of Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy funding, will see the refurbishment and fitting out of two floors of Maritime House in Barking into a new student-led dental outreach clinic.  

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is particularly affected by dental shortages – shockingly, 65% of three- to five-year-olds and almost 80% of 18–34-year-olds currently have no access to NHS dental services, and two in five children have tooth decay. 

From urgent dental care to routine and complex care, Queen Mary University of London dentistry students will treat patients, offering free access and care to those that need it the most, with a focus on improving oral – and general – health outcomes and quality of dental care for this community.  

This initiative also supports the Government’s 10-year health plan; from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention. 

Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader of the Barking and Dagenham Council said: "I was genuinely impressed by the facilities available to students during my visit. The quality of the environment provided for students to learn and become professionals in their field is really exceptional.  

“I was excited about having Queen Mary's Dentistry in Barking and Dagenham from the start, but seeing the clinic first-hand and talking to students gave me a much clearer picture of just how amazing this will be for our borough. The impact this facility will have on both the students and our community cannot be overstated,” Cllr Ashraf added.