Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSRU) was founded in 1979 at the University of Dundee following an open competition among Scottish Universities. The Chief Scientist Office of the day recognised the need for research to map Scotland’s poor record of dental health more clearly and to provide an evidence base for the measures employed by the NHS in Scotland to prevent and manage oral disease.
In January 2013 Professor Jan Clarkson and Professor Ruth Freeman were appointed as co-directors. in October 2013 .Derek Richards, Director of the Centre for Evidence-based Dentistry (CEBD) joined DHSRU as the CEBD relocated to Dundee.