Community Dental Services CIC (CDS) has opened a new state-of-the-art dental Training Centre. Based at the Dental Care Centre, Bedford Health Village, the facility is one of the most advanced of its kind in the East of England, promoting dental learning and life-long skills development for the whole dental team.
Officially opened by Jason Wong MBE, Chief Dental Officer for England, the new facility represents a major investment in dental care, education, and innovation – supporting the development of the whole dental team whatever stage in their career. Designed with accessibility, flexibility, and high-tech capability at its core, the centre will serve as a regional facility for training, collaboration, and clinical excellence and will add significant value to opportunities for dental learning in an area where there is currently no dental school.
The CDS Training Centre features a Dental Skills Room with haptic head technology – not widely available outside the dental teaching hospitals. Creating the sensation of touch, the technology will allow users to feel the resistance, texture, and pressure of dental instruments in a virtual environment. There are also seven fully automated phantom heads, dual 43” TV screens for demonstrations, and a high-tech Lecture Theatre equipped with an 85” touchscreen display and live-streaming capabilities. Eight fully equipped dental surgeries, the ‘Cabin’ for additional break out space, and newly added Cone Beam CT imaging further elevate the learning experience.
Helen Paisley, Chief Executive of CDS, said: “Our state-of-the-art Training Centre represents a bold investment in the future of dentistry – not just for CDS, but for the wider dental profession across the region. As an employee-owned, dentally led social enterprise with a board consisting primarily of GDC registrants, we are proud to provide one of the best-equipped learning environments outside London.
“The CDS Training Centre is more than just a place to build skills, it is our commitment to our patients, our employees and a centre of excellence in dental learning to inspire and elevate standards to ensure that future generations of clinicians are prepared to deliver outstanding, patient-centred care – learnt in the most realistic and supportive environment possible.”
Jason Wong MBE, Chief Dental Officer for England, who opened the facility, said: “It is an honour to have been invited to open this wonderful new facility in Bedford. The investment in this facility will enable training for the entire dental team and will ensure the highest quality of care is delivered to patients in the East of England. I am particularly pleased to note the emphasis on skill mix and the benefit that the local population will see as a result of this investment.”
Adrian Thorp, CDS’s Clinical Director, added: “We have a responsibility to pass on learning to the next generation of dental professionals, giving everyone the skills and competence to work to their full scope of practice. Our new Training Centre began as a partnership with Health Education England and has enabled the creation of this new cutting-edge learning facility, addressing significant gaps in regional learning opportunities outside London. We will be developing our own learning programme, and the Training Centre will also be available for hire; delivering an improvement in both knowledge base and practical skills that will deliver better patient care for future generations.”
