In 1799 Joseph Fox started to give a series of lectures on dental surgery at Guy’s Hospital, and was appointed dental surgeon in the same year. Thomas Bell succeeded Fox as dental surgeon either in 1817 or 1825. Frederick Newland-Pedley, who was appointed assistant dental surgeon at Guy’s Hospital in 1885, advocated the establishment of a dental school within the hospital, and he flooded the two dental schools in London, the Metropolitan School of Dental Science and the London School of Dental Surgery, with patients to prove that a further hospital was needed. In December 1888, Guy’s Hospital Dental School was established. Guy’s Hospital Dental School was recognised as a school of the University of London in 1901. In the 1970s, since there was a decline in the demand for dental services, the Department of Health of the UK suggested that there should be a decrease in the number of dental undergraduate students as well as the duration of all courses. In response to the recommendations, Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery amalgamated with the Guy’s Hospital Dental School of the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals on 1 August 1983.