RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has been granted planning permission for a new RCSI Dental Education Facility (DEF) at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. The new facility, which is scheduled to open in September 2027, will train the next generation of dentists in Ireland, using cutting edge technology in a community-based programme.

The proposed 4,000m2 building will be located adjacent to the new RCSI Education and Research Centre at Connolly Hospital. It will provide state-of-the-art clinical dentistry facilities, with 40 dental chairs and the full range of supporting infrastructure such as intra-oral x-rays suites, clinic space, central sterilization services and patient welfare facilities.

Building on an already strong partnership with the HSE, the planned Connolly Dental Education Facility will also provide space for clinical day services, further enhancing the clinical infrastructure in Connolly Hospital, and serving the communities of West Dublin and further afield.

When complete, the Connolly set up will become RCSI’s second Dental Education Facility. Its first facility, located in Sandford, is due to open in 2025, providing the most modern dental clinical simulation facilities and clinical space.

When fully operational, the RCSI School of Dentistry will graduate 75 new dentists per year and provide around 30,000 individual dental treatments in the community. The School’s Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programme will welcome its first cohort of students in 2025 and become the first community-based undergraduate dentistry degree in Ireland. The programme’s curriculum has been developed in partnership with the award-winning Peninsula Dental School at the University of Plymouth and has been designed to equip graduates to deliver excellence in dental care for patients in a primary care setting, improving their oral and general health near where they live.

The new school will build on a heritage of undergraduate dental education at RCSI and will complement the very successful Faculty of Dentistry at RCSI, which provides postgraduate and specialist training and assessments to over 1,500 dentists annually, awarding membership and fellowship qualifications.

Welcoming the planning permission granted by Fingal County Council, Professor Albert Leung, Head of the School of Dentistry at RCSI said: “We are delighted to be able to move forward with our plans to develop a world-class dental education facility at Connolly Hosptial. We are committed to providing our students with an unrivalled learning environment which will allow them to develop the clinical and professional skills they will depend on throughout their careers.”

“Our programme is based on evidence which shows that dentists who have been trained in a community setting are more likely to be keen on building their careers in a primary care environment. This will benefit patients enormously and is aligned with the Government's National Oral Health Policy”, added Professor Leung.