New Chief Dental Officer For The Ministry Of Health

29 Jun 2006

With effect from 1 July 2006, A/Prof Patrick Tseng Seng Kwong will be succeeding Prof Chew Chong Lin as the new Chief Dental Officer (CDO) in spearheading developments in the national dental healthcare scene. A/Prof Tseng will also assume the position of Registrar of the Singapore Dental Council.

Prof Chew Chong Lin has held the CDO office for 5 years since 1 July 2001. In his tenure with the Ministry of Health, Prof Chew has played a key role in formulating major dental policies at the national level as well as in developing dental specialties in Singapore. He was concurrently appointed as the Registrar of the Singapore Dental Council. Prof Chew will be returning to full-time work at the National University of Singapore as Professor at the Department of Restorative Dentistry, and as Director, Division of Graduate Dental Studies.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) deeply appreciates the contributions of Prof Chew.

A/Prof Patrick Tseng Seng Kwong is presently the Clinical Coordinator of Dental Services at the National University Hospital. As the Clinical Associate Professor at NUS, he also plays a pivotal role in promoting dental education as he actively reviews dental training programmes. A/Prof Tseng is also the immediate Past President of the Singapore Dental Association (SDA) and is actively involved in promoting the dental profession through enhancing its professionalism, ethics and standards. Under his charge, the SDA has embarked on various programmes to promote greater public awareness of dental hygiene and introduced various programmes to strengthen patient/dentist relationship. A/Prof Patrick Tseng is also actively involved in dental research and publications. He is an Associate Editor of the Singapore Dental Journal and is a member of various local and international expert/advisory panels.

On his priorities as the new CDO, A/Prof Patrick Tseng said,

" My challenge is to continue to enhance the state of dental care in Singapore. The key is to provide quality dental care that is readily accessible and affordable. This means the continual improvement and upgrading of standards, capabilities and delivery of dental health services. I will also continue to promote greater transparency and visibility of charges for common dental procedures so that patients are empowered with greater information and choices."

The Ministry is pleased to welcome A/Prof Tseng Seng Kwong as the new Chief Dental Officer.