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How to choose a dentist in Singapore?

Published on June 23, 2008 in Articles. 4 Comments Tags: .

If you are coming to Singapore and want to find a dentist that fits your specific dental need according to the field of dentistry. If you’re thinking of doing implants and doing away with your dentures, then for heaven’s sake go to a dental surgeon that is that has undergone training in dental implantology. Here’s a list of the various fields that might help you save a lot of time and redundant effort bouncing from one dentist to another.

  • Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon (OMS):
    Dental implants, wisdom teeth surgery, jaw surgery, sinus surgery, extraction, cyst removal
  • Periodontist:
    Gum surgery, gum disease, deep scaling, root planning
  • Prosthodontist:
    Crown, implant crown, bridges, veneers
  • Orthodontist:
    Braces (metal, ceramic)
  • Paediatricition:
    Children dentistry
  • Endodontist:
    Root canal treatment
  • General Practitioner:
    Scaling & polishing (fancy dental term for cleaning), restoration (another fancy term for fillings), teeth-whitening

Now that you are a bit more familiar with the different dentistry fields, you can search for a dentist in your area that does the exact treatment you want done.

Here are 11 factors to consider in choosing a dentist:

1. Find out how long the dentist has been in practice and how long the dental practice has been around.

2. To what degree of experience does the dentist have dealing with your specific dental need. If you want to do an implant surgery, what formal training has the dentist gone through to equip him with the necessary skills to execute the treatment.

3. Ask the dentist to explain to you all the possible option in dealing with your situation. If you are missing a tooth, he should explain to you the 3 options of; bridge, denture and an implant. Then ask him the pros and cons for each option before deciding.

4. Ask about the dental societies that the dentist participates in as well as what kind of continual education he has gone through recently. The Singapore Dental Council requires all practicing dentist to attend a certain number of hours per year so as to ensure that they are up to date with the latest technologies and methods in their field of dentistry.

5. How thorough is the dental examination: a conscientious dentist would not only check your teeth, but also your tongue, lips, inside of the cheek, palate, gums and skin of your face.

6. Ask the dentist to show you the before and after photos of the same procedures that you would like to undergo and ask him how close the results would be if you undergo the same treatment (Many Singapore dentists take before and after shots to put a patient’s mind at ease that he knows that he’s doing)

7. Find out clearly the total cost of the treatment including hospital charges, anaesthetist fees, facility fees and dental treatment fees.

8. Ask if the clinic is MEDISAVE approved. If the clinic is Medisave approved, you can use your medisave to pay a portion of the fees for surgical cases (cyst removal, dental implants, wisdom tooth surgery, gum surgery, sinus lift procedures, drainage of abscess).

9. How friendly and courteous are the staff and dentists from the clinic. You would probably not change dentist for a long time (maybe forever), so it is very important to feel at ease and comfortable with the receptionist, nurses and doctors.

10. Ask about what kind of patient centered comforts there are: music, movies and anesthetic methods.

11. What are the operating hours like; as your procedure might require multiple visits, you need to know when they are open (some clinics open only during office hours) so as to plan for leave of time off from your company.

Cost of dental treatment to be made public online - The Straits Times Singapore Dec 30, 2007

Published on June 20, 2008 in Articles. 0 Comments Tags: .

WHETHER you see a dentist in Bedok or Orchard Road, you will soon know how your bill compares with that charged by a government-run dental centre.

Starting tomorrow, information on price benchmarks for treatments such as wisdom tooth operations and root canals will go public on the Health Ministry’s website. Patients can then make more informed choices about how much to pay for dental care.

The initiative follows the Health Ministry’s move to make public the size of hospital bills - which triggered almost immediate price cuts at hospitals that were more expensive than others.

Besides pushing for greater cost transparency, the ministry has two other missions - to set up of a register of dental specialists to raise professional standards and to raise the number of dentists by recognising the degrees from 55 more American and Canadian dental schools.

The Health Ministry said the 4.68 million people here need another 653 dentists, based on a ratio of one dentist to every 2,500 people. This is a conservative projection, given the rise in demand for dental services.

Professor Patrick Tseng of the Health Ministry’s Manpower Standards and Development Division said people were more aware of dental health and aesthetics, and had the money to pay for both.

On the move to put the cost of various dental treatments online, he said it would allay concerns over the wide differences in treatment prices. But he said that fees will still vary with the clinic’s location, the dentist’s experience and the materials used.

A check by The Straits Times found that a root canal can cost $400 at a heartland dental clinic and $1,500 at an Orchard Road one. A National University Hospital spokesman said a private patient at NUH would pay between $350 and $900 for a root canal.

Information like this would have been useful to Mr Jon Lee, 43, who cracked a tooth about a year ago. The $700 he paid for his root canal was well within NUH’s cost range.

He said: ‘It was expensive, but I would not say I was ripped off. A website benchmarking treatment costs would perhaps encourage me to shop around a little more.’

Prof Tseng said making the cost of dental treatment more transparent is all the more important because more than three quarters of dentists here are in the private sector.

Of the 1,422 dentists here, 1,219 are in active practice. Of these, 922, or 85 per cent, are in private practice.

On the specialist register of dentists, Prof Tseng said it will make dentists’ areas of strength more transparent.

The Health Ministry also plans to require dentists to treat a minimum number of patients, or chalk up a minimum number of training hours or hours teaching their specialty to renew their licence.

Dentists in private practice welcomed the changes.

Dr Lim Swee Teck said: ‘If patients are prepared mentally and if they are given the option to decide, bad feelings towards the practitioner or practice will be lessened.’

But Dr Thean Tsin Piao cautioned that benchmark fees only reflect what is being charged in the market; they do not tell dentists what to charge.

He also pointed out that benchmarked fees would mean little if the clinical standards delivered for a given treatment by two dentists are different.

On patients who are less price sensitive, he said: ‘In a free market, some consumers would pay more for branded schools, watches, cars and clothes. Why not a dentist or a doctor?’

By Judith Tan

This story was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 31, 2007

The Straits Times 30th Dec 2007

Bad Breath, Gum Disease and Diabetes

Published on May 15, 2008 in Articles. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Bad Breath, Gum Disease and Diabetes If you have receding gums or notice a bleeding gum that is often red and irritated, and if you’ve noticed that your breath is bad, you may have periodontal gum disease.

In fact, periodontal disease may increase your risk for other health concerns including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung and respiratory disease, and osteoporosis.

Today with cosmetic dentistry and dental implants at the top of the dental industry spectrum, Gum disease often progresses silently and without pain. It’s easy to know if you have periodontal disease by paying attention to these signs. When you brush your teeth, your gums bleed. You may have gum disease if they are often red, swollen and tender. If your gums are pulling away from your teeth, or one of more of your permanent teeth separate from the gums and become loose, or if you have bad breath all of the time, these symptoms may be caused by an infection that causes chronic inflammation of the gums. Not including children’s dentistry, statistics tell us that more than half of all people over 18 have are in the early stages of periodontal disease. These numbers increase to three out of four people who are over 35. According to several studies, people with gum infection may be more likely to get heart disease, plus those with diabetes who also have gum disease may also be at risk for cardiovascular disease. Heart and blood vessel disease is the number-one cause of death for people with diabetes. The researchers wanted to know if gum disease had anything to do with the higher death rates for people with type 2 diabetes so they studied 628 Pima Indians who were at least 35 years old and had type 2 diabetes who lived in the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.

Part of a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, participants in this study had a physical exam every two years. Everyone was grouped into one of three groups: those with no or mild gum disease, moderate gum disease, or those with serious gum disease. Researchers then checked on the effect of gum disease on the death rate.

After 11 years, 204 of the 628 people in the study had died, and it was fifty-four of them who had died of heart and blood vessel disease. Most of the 54 died of ischemic heart disease (a type of blood vessel disease that develops from narrowed heart arteries). Many of the 204 diabetes-related deaths were a result of diabetic kidney disease. Ultimately, the people with type 2 diabetes and serious gum disease were 3.5 times more likely to have died from ischemic heart disease or kidney disease than people with less serious gum disease. Gum disease is that it not only destroys the gum surrounding the teeth, but the supporting bone that holds teeth in place.If there are pockets or spaces between your gums and teeth, your periodontist or dentist may suggest a course of treatment that will help stop further damage to your gums and bones.

Beverly Hills dentist Dr. Bijan Afar recommends periodontal disease treatments at least twice a year or more, with a dental team to make sure there’s no plaque build-up on your teeth causing gum disease. Kristin Gabriel is a social media marketing writer and PR professional. One of her clients, Dr. Bijan Afar, an oral surgeon, is based in Los Angeles, and owns five dental clinics, including the Wilshire Dental Clinic. For more information, visit http://www.oralimplants.com