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‘It doesn't matter where you come from, it matters where you go': Peninsula dental students' career decisions and intentions

British Dental Journal (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction The south west of England is widely recognised as a ‘dental desert' with limited access to NHS (National Health Service) dentistry. One of the major contributing factors to NHS capacity is recruitment and retention of dentists in the region, particularly in rural and coastal areas. Peninsula Dental School was established in 2006 to help address some of the workforce issues at that time, yet despite the success of the Dental School, many dental students still do not stay in the region following graduation.

Aims This study aimed to understand factors that influence career intentions and decisions of present and past dental students of Peninsula Dental School.

Methods The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews that were thematically analysed to establish key data themes.

Results Five themes were identified detailing influencing factors: connections, location, undergraduate experience, professional opportunities, and financial considerations.

Conclusion This study identified key factors impacting the career decisions of dentists qualifying from Peninsula Dental School which can be used to inform future decisions relating to the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan for dentistry.

Key points

  • Recruitment and retention of the dental workforce is a major contributing factor in the lack of access to NHS dentistry within ‘dental deserts'.

  • Dental schools sited within ‘dental deserts' can make a significant contribution to the local area, but this does not necessarily translate into alleviation of the dental workforce crisis.

  • Dentists' career decisions can be influenced by many factors, some of which are difficult to predict, let alone control.

  • Recruitment and retention of graduates within rural and coastal areas can be influenced by local connections, appeal of the area, undergraduate experience, professional opportunities and financial considerations.

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Data availability

The qualitative data reported within this article are available from the corresponding author (IM), upon reasonable request. The data have been anonymised with any identifying elements redacted

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank all students and graduates who agreed to take part in this study and Devon Local Dental Committee for their generous support in funding this study.

The authors wish to acknowledge that the quote in the title is a lyric from Peggy Sang the Blues by Frank Turner.

Funding

This study was funded by the Devon Local Dental Committee (LDC).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor, Primary Care Dentistry, Peninsula Dental School, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom

    Ian Mills

  2. Research Assistant, Peninsula Dental School, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom

    Laura Clarry

  3. Senior Research Associate, School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom

    Amy Rathbone

  4. Senior Research Fellow, Peninsula Medical and Dental School, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom

    Marie Bryce

  5. Professor, Primary Care Dentistry, Peninsula Dental School, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom

    Sally Hanks

Authors
  1. Ian Mills
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  2. Laura Clarry
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  3. Amy Rathbone
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  4. Marie Bryce
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  5. Sally Hanks
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Contributions

LC and AR conducted the interviews and transcribed the data. IM and LC undertook the primary data analysis with the support of the rest of the research team. IM and LC led on the preparation of the manuscript with all authors contributing to reviewing and editing the final submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ian Mills.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the Faculty of Health, Faculty Research Ethics and Integrity Committee (Project ID 3224, Dated: 13/02/2023). Consent forms were completed by participants.

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Mills, I., Clarry, L., Rathbone, A. et al. ‘It doesn't matter where you come from, it matters where you go': Peninsula dental students' career decisions and intentions. Br Dent J (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-025-8810-4

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