Burnley MP Kitty Ussher has welcomed a new dentistry degree, which sees 32 new dental placements in the North West.

The degree, run by a consortium of the universities including Liverpool, Central Lancashire, Lancaster and St Martin's College, will allow those with a biomedical science degree or mature students with a healthcare background to qualify as a dentist in only four years.

The programme has been designed to improve access to dental healthcare in Lancashire and Cumbria.

The degree involves students spending their first year at UCLAN gaining practical experience in dentistry and the following years in one of the four dental education centres in Blackpool, Carlisle, East Lancashire and Morecambe Bay, treating patients in the community.

The training will bring more dentists into the region and will also increase the availability of dental healthcare provision in the long term, as most who train and qualify locally will remain to work in the region.

Mrs Ussher said: "This is a real step forward in addressing problems with access to dental care.

"We need more dentists and having local education centres will encourage more dentists to train and remain here.

"The development is great news for the region, because not only will it benefit from increased levels of dental provision, it will also benefit from increased higher educational opportunities and more jobs. It's certainly the time to start smiling.

"I would urge all local aspiring dentists to apply for the new degree programme."