Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure today to officiate the opening of the International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) 2002. IDEM is a showcase of the state-of-the-art in dentistry. This premier trade exhibition and conference was a success when it was last here in 2000. Singapore is once again honoured to host this meeting.

Today’s conference is jointly organised and scientifically supervised by the Singapore Dental Association (SDA) and the World Dental Education Society (WDES). The focus of the conference is to address challenging topics at the forefront of dentistry. The theme ‘Dentistry at the Leading Edge’ is most appropriate, as speakers will discuss trends and changes affecting dentistry internationally.

Apart from the exciting scientific programme, a big scale exhibition has also been lined up by the organizer, Köln Messe International. They have brought the best and latest in dental science and technology: a deluge of new ideas, materials, techniques and approaches in oral health care provision, from the world arena to us here in Singapore. This is relevant for our dental professionals to enable them to keep abreast in clinical skills and knowledge so as to provide quality service to their patients.

Oral health is an integral component of general health and well being.

But how can one achieve optimal oral health? This calls for a paradigm shift in focus from repair and restoration of damaged tissues to prevention of oral diseases such as earlier diagnoses; the use of fluoride therapy; fissure sealants and patients education. To facilitate ease of implementation and a multi-prong approach towards these preventive programmes, a concerted effort and involvement of the community, healthcare team and other stakeholders eg employers, food and pharmaceutical industries is critical.

The two most common dental problems are tooth decay and gum disease. Both conditions are mainly caused by bacteria. By increasing host resistance to disease and reducing or eliminating the causative microbial pathogens in the oral cavity both conditions are preventable.

Another dental condition that is preventable is oral cancer. Its leading causes, primarily the use of tobacco and to a lesser extent, excessive alcohol consumption and poor dietary practices, are proven. Pre-cancerous lesions usually present themselves well before oral cancer sets in. By identifying patients with the relevant risk factors and advising them appropriately, coupled with dedication towards detection of the early warning signs, this often deadly and debilitating condition can be prevented and treated more effectively.

Now, let me highlight of some of the initiatives that we in Singapore have embarked on to prevent oral diseases. The Ministry of Health recognizes the cost-effectiveness of promoting prevention and has actively introduced community preventive programmes. Singapore was the first country in the Asian region to adopt water fluoridation in the fifties for its beneficial effect on dental health.

In tandem with this, MOH has a well-established and comprehensive School Dental Service programme. The programme emphasizes on the importance of educating and inculcating good dental habits in the young. It also focuses on the delivery of free basic dental care from preventive treatment like scaling, polishing, fissure sealants to restorative treatment like fillings and extractions to all primary school-going children.

Both fluoridation of public water and school dental service programmes have significantly contributed to the low caries rate in our school children as indicated by the low decayed, missing & filled teeth (DMFT) value of 1 for children at 12 years of age since 1994.

The School Dental Service has just extended its programmes to all secondary school children. From this early access and through 10 years of supervised dental care, it is hoped that onset of oral diseases may be prevented, and the high cost in treating diseases may be avoided. It is also targeted that the oral health status of 12 year-olds be maintained with the DMFT index at less than 1 and that of the 18 year-olds at 2. This is well within the standards of oral health set by the World Health Organisation.

Though these preventive measures have improved the oral health status of Singaporeans, the Ministry has recently set up a National Oral Health Strategy Task Force chaired by the Chief Dental Officer, to review the current community preventive programmes and to formulate new strategies to further improve the oral health of the community.

Just as important as the community preventive services, preventive services provided by the dental professionals are vital in the prevention of dental diseases. Too often dentists are not spending sufficient time in their practices on preventive measures or educating their patients on dental health.

However, dentists have a critical role to play in the provision of preventive care to their patients and the promotion of dental awareness amongst the public. They should not measure themselves only by how many clinical procedures they have done but by how well they have maintained the health of their patients over time. It is timely that dental professionals incorporate new measures rooted in evidence-based dentistry for early detection and diagnosis, risk assessment and risk management of oral diseases in their practices. I am confident if these messages are effectively communicated to the patients, this would convince many to make the necessary changes in their behaviour that would improve their dental health.

 Dentists, however, must also bear in mind that in the dealing with a sophisticated and demanding public, the skills in communicating information to patients become even more important. Often, misunderstandings arise between patient and the dentist simply because of a lack of communication of both information and empathy.

To further increase dental awareness, the dental professionals can organise public education programmes or participate in delivering public forums or health talks. I am glad that this Sunday, many of you are delivering a series of talks to the public on "Understanding Gum Disease". Such events are good for increasing public awareness.

To educate the public at large, members of the Singapore Dental Association and the Singapore Dental Health Foundation have carried out many community service projects. This community service has been taken beyond the shores of Singapore to communities in Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. I encourage these works and wish you success in these and future projects.

Hi-tech equipment and new dental materials may make treatment easier, but it is the human touch that heals. The new millennium will no doubt bring many challenges and changes in the provision of dental care. But with a commitment to excellence supported by sound scientific knowledge, zeal and determination, I am sure such challenges and changes will translate into new opportunities and further improvement on oral health.

On this note, ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure now to declare open IDEM 2002.