Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health at the Opening Ceremony of the International Dental Exhibition and Meeting, 8 April 2016

Dr Patrick Hescot, President, FDI World Dental Federation

Dr Kuan Chee Keong, President, Singapore Dental Association

Mr Michael Dreyer, Vice President Asia Pacific, Koelnmesse 

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to join you for the opening ceremony of the International Dental Exhibition & Meeting (IDEM) 2016.

Providing dental care to our ageing population

1.             Dental care is an important component of one’s overall health and wellbeing.  An article published by the World Health Organization^[1] aptly reminded us that “the compartmentalization involved in viewing the mouth separately from the rest of the body must cease because oral health affects general health by causing considerable pain and suffering and by changing what people eat, their speech and their quality of life and well-being.” Oral health also has an effect on other chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases, and this will be more evident in the geriatric population, who are more likely to have multiple chronic conditions.

2.            Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly.  Currently, 1 in 8 of us are aged 65 and above and this will increase to 1 in 4 by 2030. The fast ageing population has increased the demand for expertise and facilities to address the dental care needs of the elderly. For example, elderly patients may be less mobile and would require special amenities and assistance to help them into the dental operatories. Elderly dental patients are also more likely to have other accompanying complex or chronic medical conditions, hence require special expertise in the holistic management of these patients.

3.            The Ministry of Health is addressing the dental care needs of the elderly in three ways.  First, in terms of infrastructure, we have opened Singapore’s first Geriatric and Special Needs Dentistry clinic at the National Dental Centre last September. The Centre for Oral Health (COH), which is due to open in 2019, will also offer geriatric and preventive care dentistry services to cater to the increasingly complex dental needs of our aging population. Both tertiary care facilities are equipped with specialised dental systems such as the wheelchair tilter unit in order to manage the frail patients who have difficulties in transferring between the conventional dental chair and their wheelchairs.

4.            We are also reaching out to patients who are less ambulant. In the nursing homes, oral care has been identified for improvement under the enhanced nursing home standards. MOH is currently exploring the feasibility of providing further training and empowerment of our pool of oral health therapists and nurses to manage the oral healthcare needs of residents in nursing homes and community hospitals. We are also exploring the feasibility of providing domiciliary dental services to these patients via portable dental units. This is so that simple dental procedures can be performed without the need to shift the less mobile patient from their nursing home environment to the unfamiliar dental operatory, which can be quite frightening to the patients sometimes.

5.            Second, in the area of manpower, we need to ensure that our dentists are trained to deal with the needs of an ageing population. To date, MOH has sponsored seven candidates for its Geriatric and Special Needs Dentistry scholarships. Four have since returned to serve the community. We strongly encourage dentists who have a keen interest in this area to apply.

6.            It is heartening to see that the dental fraternity has been providing continual dental education programmes to our dental practitioners to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the dental needs and management for our seniors. The dental school has also reviewed its curriculum to include geriatric dentistry for all our future dentists.

7.            On this note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the dental practitioners who have been volunteering their services to the nursing homes outside their usual working hours. I would like to encourage more to take part in this meaningful service. Interested practitioners may contact the Singapore Dental Health Foundation for further information and coordination.

8.            Allied health professionals also play a vital role in the multi-disciplinary oral healthcare team. Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) first started its three year dental therapy and hygiene diploma programme in 2003 and the clinical training of Oral Health Therapists (OHTs) has been carried out both at the NYP and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) with an average intake of about 24 trainees a year.

9.            The OHT training will be shifted from the HPB to the Centre for Oral Health when it is ready, where the training will be more synergistic as OHTs will interact and learn to work with dental undergraduates and postgraduates as a team. This will enable the oral health team to work closely with the medical and the allied health teams, to provide holistic care for our seniors.

Providing affordable dental care

10.         Third, providing affordable dental healthcare, especially to the elderly, is another important area we have been working on. One example is the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) which provides subsidised dental care to eligible Singaporeans from lower to middle income households. As of December 2015, about 1.4 million CHAS and Pioneer Generation cardholders were eligible for CHAS subsidy, of which 475,000 are aged 65 years old and above – this includes all Pioneers.  

11.         Since the scheme’s introduction in 2012, the number of participating private dental clinics has grown to about 650 island-wide. Eligible Singaporeans are able to easily access subsidised dental treatment at CHAS private dental clinics near their homes. Last year, 113,000 Singaporeans aged 65 years and above used their CHAS or Pioneer Generation card for dental care. This is more than 10 times the number of CHAS dental beneficiaries belonging to the same age group in 2012 when CHAS was introduced. We will continue to build our infrastructure and nurture our manpower, and keep our dental services affordable.

12.         In closing, I would like to wish all of you a successful meeting and that IDEM 2016 and IDEM Singapore will be a fruitful and enriching experience for all of you. 

^[1] Bulletin of the World Health Organization Volume 83, Number 9, September 2005, 641-720 http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/83/9/editorial30905html/en/