HRH The Duchess of Gloucester visited King’s College Hospital on Tuesday 19 March to meet staff and patients connected with the Trust’s Dental Institute. The Dental Institute at King’s College Hospital also provides teaching and training for both undergraduate and postgraduates trainees from King’s College London.

As part of her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Army Dental Corps, The Duchess was given a tour of the Rainbow Suite, which provides a dental trauma service to children who live in south east London, as well as the Adult Dental Traumatology Clinic and Oral & Maxillofacial and Craniofacial Surgery laboratories.

She met with staff and patients, before unveiling a plaque to mark the centenary of the Dental Institute and School, which opened in 1923, and formally marked its 100th year in 2023.

The Duchess also met with Professor Mike Escudier, Executive Dental Dean at King’s College London, Dr Mark Sayers, Clinical Director of the KCH Dental Institute; Professor Clive Kay, Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; plus a number of other staff connected with dental services at the Trust.

The Dental Institute at the Trust is the south east London hub for dental/facial and craniofacial trauma, the regional hub for orthognathic surgery (surgery to correct deformities of the face and jaw), and also provides a service for patients undergoing cardiac and renal treatment at the hospital who often require specialist dental care, and teaching and training for students at King's College London.