S’pore Dental Council to consider dentist groups’ ideas after concerns raised over further certification

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Dental Council (SDC) said on Thursday (May 9) that it is open to ideas raised by two dental groups concerned about a proposal that may require dentists to receive further training for “higher-risk” procedures.

But the council also urged the dental fraternity to see any new requirements and courses arising from the review in the same light as the continuing education and training that they already undergo.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, the SDC — the self-regulatory body for the dental profession — said it would consider the ideas mooted by the College of General Dental Practitioners Singapore (CGDP) and the Singapore Dental Association (SDA).

Both groups had raised concerns over the recent proposal by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the SDC that could require dentists in general practice to undergo more training for procedures such as wisdom-teeth surgery and implants.

The CGDP, a non-profit organisation for Singapore dentists in general practice, pointed out that the proposal could raise costs for patients and compromise their treatment.

Patients will have to visit specialists if general dentists are prohibited from carrying out advanced procedures, said the college, which counts over 600 general dentists as members.

It urged the MOH and SDC to set out the key features of the proposed policy and how it will impact general dentists, for instance.

The SDA, the professional body for dentists here, also joined the growing chorus of concern.

It said dentists here are sufficiently competent to treat patients safely and proposed that any extra training be rolled out to new intakes of dental students, rather than all practising dentists.

The SDC on Thursday replied that there was a requirement for continuing dental education in the profession and that most dentists attend courses to equip themselves with new skills beyond what their bachelor’s degrees had taught them.

“New competency requirements and training courses arising from the review can be seen in the same light,” the council said, adding that it would look into accrediting new courses that arise from the review under the present continuing-education framework.

The council will also consider the suggestion to exempt dentists with the relevant training or the identified experience and competencies from attending the new courses, where appropriate.

TURMOIL AT DENTAL ASSOCIATION

Meanwhile, a controversy of another kind is brewing at the SDA after more than 200 dentists called for a special general meeting this week in an effort to unseat its council.

They were frustrated that the SDA council had not taken a clear stand on the review for further certification and had failed to articulate their views to the authorities.

The 230 dentists signed a notice calling for a special general meeting to pass a no-confidence motion against members of the SDA’s council.

Former SDA president Eugene Tang, 62, told TODAY: “The people that we trusted are no longer the same people whom we knew before. My advice is for them to step down graciously and allow a new team to take over.”

The signatories were also unhappy that the SDA, which has 1,800 members, had rejected a request last month by 50 dentists to hold a meeting to elect an independent standing committee to gather more information on the authorities’ proposal.

SDA president Lim Lii previously said that it declined to hold the meeting at the time as the proposed resolutions dealt with matters outside the power or competence of a special general meeting.

TODAY has reached out to Dr Lim for comment.

CONTINUING ENGAGEMENTS

Last week, TODAY reported that some dentists were up in arms over the authorities’ proposal which they believed, if rolled out, could restrict them from carrying out dental procedures they have done for decades.

The MOH and SDC said that they were reviewing the areas where dental procedures might be of higher risk and dental competencies needed to be improved.

The review would allow dentists to be trained further in these procedures, and practise safely and competently without undergoing specialist training, both parties said. A committee in the SDC will seek the dental fraternity’s feedback on the proposal over the next few months.

On Thursday, the SDC assured dentists that it has always intended to conduct a wide consultation with them.

“Some engagement efforts have already started. We will be reaching out to more dentists over the coming months to seek their inputs in the review and co-develop the proposals,” the council said.