A student from Barrow has won three prestigious awards in undergraduate dentistry.

Laura Irving, a final year dental surgery student at the University of Central Lancashire, won the awards for writing three extracurricular research papers.

The awards she received are the Undergraduate Research Prize from the British Endodontic Society (BES), the British Society of Periodontology’s (BSP) Frank Ashley Undergraduate Prize, and the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry (SAAD) Dental Student Essay Prize.

Her research topics spanned across different interest areas.

Her winning paper for the BES addressed the issue of antibiotic resistance and its potential effect on endodontic treatments.

The other research papers focused on dental anxiety among children from more deprived backgrounds and the roles and responsibilities of general dentists in handling disease related to dental implants.

Ms Irving said: "I feel really proud to have won these awards and it’s given me a big confidence boost.

"To win three national awards is a big achievement, especially given the undoubted talents of the students from the 15 other dental schools in the UK, who were my competition".

The student, who currently lives in Preston but hails from Barrow-in-Furness, undertakes her clinical training at the university's Dental Education Centre in Morecambe.

Ms Irving previously worked as a Clinical Audit Facilitator at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, a role she continues part-time.

She added: "I’ve always been interested in people and science.

"Though it might seem a little crazy to some people, by spending all these years at University I’m now in a good position for my future career which will hopefully combine clinical work with academic research and maybe even some teaching.

“I’ve really loved my course, it’s been great to have such a hands on experience being on clinic for 2-3 days each week. The tutors have been amazing and I’ve made so many lifelong friends.”

Shalini Kanagasingam, course lead for MSc Endodontology and the university’s BES council member, said: "The BES Undergraduate Research Prize encourages our new generation of dentists to get involved in research early on in their careers.

"The judges were very impressed with Laura’s winning work and said it was thought-provoking."