Barking and Dagenham Council, together with Queen Mary University of London, has announced a £4.1 million investment for the facility.
Two floors of Maritime House will be transformed into a national-level dental training centre, expected to open its doors to students and patients in September 2026.
This academic centre aims to train 130 new dental students each year and provide NHS dental care to more than 5,000 patients annually.
The initiative comes at a time when there are almost 3,500 NHS dentist positions vacant in the UK, and one in eight UK dentists are within five years of retirement, the council said.
The effects of this national shortage have been pronounced in east London, with the authority adding that 65 per cent of three to five-year-olds and almost 80pc of 18-34 year olds are without access to NHS dental services.
Council leader Dominic Twomey said: “Through this investment we are bringing a world-class health facility into the borough that will benefit our residents.
“For too many people, access to good healthcare has become a postcode lottery and access to a dentist for too many people is a privilege rather than a given.
“The extension of Queen Mary University of London’s Institute for Dentistry will bring added benefits beyond health including place-making, jobs and more.”
The hub will create around 44 local jobs, and open new opportunities for learning and research in the area.
It is part of a wider, long-term partnership between the council and Queen Mary, focused on tackling health inequalities and developing research-led, community-driven solutions to improve wellbeing across the borough.
This partnership also supports Barking and Dagenham’s inclusion in the NHS’s national neighbourhood health programme.
Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, vice principal of health at Queen Mary University of London, said: “Queen Mary’s new dental training facility at Maritime House represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform oral health and wider wellbeing for the residents of Barking and Dagenham.
“By bringing world-class dental education directly into the community, we are removing long-standing barriers to access and ensuring that those who need care the most can receive it free of charge, close to home.”
