The RAE Subject Overview Report of Dentistry concludes:
The unanimous view of the sub-panel was that dental research in the United Kingdom is of a standard that matches international excellence in a large majority of the outputs that were reviewed. Evidence of world-leading work across all institutions submitted to the UoA demonstrates clearly that there is a breadth of excellence that informs and supports major national and international stakeholders. Whilst funding to support much of the research conducted in this UoA remains difficult to obtain, it is clear, that a wide range of potential sources have been successfully pursued to support and deliver quality outputs.
The full report is available on the HEFCE web-site: http://www.rae.ac.uk/pubs/2009/ov/