New Royal London Dental Hospital officially opened

Queen Mary University of London has announced the official launch of the new Royal London Dental Hospital, a cutting-edge facility developed using an investment of 78 million pounds.

Located within the new Barts Health NHS Trust dental hospital in Whitechapel, it is the UK's first new dental school and hospital in nearly 40 years and represents the culmination of more than a decade of planning and work.

It will be used to train around 400 dental students each year and incorporates 111 dental operatories and 22 self-contained rooms for complex consultations and treatments. It is also equipped with the very latest treatment technologies and teaching equipment.

The creation of the hospital will also mean a vastly improved patient experience for the local population. Around 46 percent of five-year-old children in nearby Tower Hamlets are estimated to experience tooth decay, the highest rate of all the London boroughs.

NHS England's chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft, who visited the school to mark its official opening, described it as "a fine example of how modern dentistry should be practiced, providing a great learning environment for the students".

The Queen Mary University of London is a leading educational institution with 17,840 students and around 4,000 staff.