New centre to provide specialised dental care

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans will have better access to a range of specialised dental services when the new National University Centre for Oral Health opens in a few years’ time.

The centre at Kent Ridge is scheduled for completion in 2019, and will accommodate about 500 patients per day when it is fully operational.

It will be Singapore’s second speciality centre for dentistry, the first being the National Dental Centre Singapore, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new centre today (Sept 21).

Its treatment rooms will be equipped with the necessary facilities for patients with complex medical conditions or special needs.

For example, all the treatment rooms will be wheelchair-accessible, and some of the rooms will be specially designed and equipped with hoisting aids to help patients who are not physically mobile to get onto the dental chairs.

With this latest development, the public can look forward to receiving subsidised specialist dental care, complementing the services provided by the National Dental Centre Singapore.

The location of the Centre for Oral Health at Kent Ridge will also enable it to provide multidisciplinary treatment and seamless patient care, working closely with adjacent clinical facilities and departments.

“Patients with oral health problems and concomitant medical conditions will also be co-managed by their dentists, physicians and allied health professionals from various specialities, thus improving the quality of care,” Mr Gan said.

The new building will also house the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Dentistry. With its expanded facilities, the school will be able to increase its annual undergraduate intake from 54 to 80 per year by 2021.

The centre will also invest in new educational technology, such as virtual reality and interactive devices, to train undergraduates in clinical procedures.

With the dentistry faculty and the centre’s clinical services located under one roof, undergraduates can also broaden their experience in areas such as geriatric dentistry. CHANNEL NEWSASIA