The Peninsula Dental School has reported a massive 122 per cent rise in the number of applications for its course this year.
The increase is more than double the number of applications received in 2007 and far in excess of national levels, where applications for dentistry courses are up by 10 per cent.
Established in 2006, the Peninsula Dental School is now on par with much longer-operating dental education centres that offer a four-year graduate entry course, with a ratio of just under six applicants for each place.
Commenting on the figures, Professor Liz Kay, Dean of the Peninsula Dental School, said: "Words cannot express how delighted we are to hear that the Peninsula Dental School's popularity has risen so steeply with those wishing to make dentistry their career ."
"My thanks go to my colleagues, who have constructed a first class and innovative dental course and who have marketed it so successfully to the dental sector and prospective students ; to our partners in the local NHS and local government who have provided us with vital support; and last but by no means least to our current students who are already building an excellent reputation for themselves in the field of dentistry ."
She added: "We will be interviewing over 200 candidates for the course, and we look forward to welcoming those we select in September 2009."
