The Dental Education in Sri Lanka commenced in 1943 in Colombo in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ceylon as the Department of Dental Surgery. Due to lack of space for expansion, it was moved to Peradeniya in 1954. However, the pre-clinical subjects continued to be taught at the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo because a medical faculty was not established at Peradeniya at that time.
With the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine at Peradeniya in 1961, the Dental School became a department of the Faculty of Medicine, Peradeniya, and the BDS Degree was awarded by the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.
In 1974, under the University Act, the medical, dental and veterinary schools were amalgamated into the Faculty of Medical, Dental & Veterinary Sciences of the Peradeniya Campus, University of Sri Lanka, with a chairman in each school. The chairman of the medical school was also the dean of the faculty. In 1986 a separate faculty, named Faculty of Dental Sciences was established at University of Peradeniya. Dental students continued to learn basic sciences, Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology with the medical students and in 1997 a new department of Basic Sciences was created.
Although the number of Medical Faculties expanded over the years, Faculty of Dental Sciences at Peradeniya remained the only Faculty of Dental Sciences in Sri Lanka. The need for a second Faculty of Dental Sciences was well identified and it is undeniable that the University of Sri Jayewardenepura is the best strategic location for the second Dental Faculty in Sri Lanka. By the order of the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2257/28 dated 08th December 2021, the second Faculty of Dental Sciences in Sri Lanka was established as the ninth faculty in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The Faculty of Dental Sciences at University of Sri Jayewardenepura was declared open by Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunge, Chairman, University Grants Commission and Senior Professor Sudantha Liyanage, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sri Jayewardenepura on 06th January 2022 at the Second Floor of the Library Building.