Our Work in the Community (RHS)

National Dental Centre Singapore’s regional health system framework aligns with Ministry of Health’s Beyond Healthcare 2020 vision to move beyond hospital to community, beyond healthcare to value, and beyond healthcare to health. Our aim is to empower the population to Keep Well, Get Well, and Age Well in the community and at home.

Our regional health system initiatives (RHS) include:

• The Infant Oral Health Programme, targeted at infants/babies and their families to help them develop good oral health and oral health behaviours. The attending paediatric dentist will assess the child’s risk of tooth decay and dental development, advise appropriate preventive strategies and offer guidance for parents at each stage of the child’s dental development.

• The Care Partnership Programme where we partner with like-minded primary care dental practitioners to provide shared care or fully transitioned care of patients with stable periodontal (gum) conditions, paediatric patients, and those who require simple crowns, dentures and geriatric special care. The programme has been well received with more than 1,268 participants, the majority of whom have provided positive feedback.

• The Oral Health Education Programme to improve the oral health of those in long-term care. The programme trains non-dental healthcare professionals in long-term care settings such as nursing homes and stroke units to deliver basic oral healthcare and identify common dental conditions.

• The Oral Health Movement 8020 on Oral Frailty, a preventive intervention programme targeting oral frailty of older adults, aged 40 years and above. The programme includes screening at various platforms in the community, followed by a preventive intervention programme to improve oral frailty in orally pre-frail or frail individuals.

• Dental screening in the community under Project Silver Screen in collaboration with Health Promotion Board and Temasek Foundation Cares, and Neighbourhood Health Service. We aim to provide oral health screening to the community, and pick up undiagnosed dental conditions which can then be referred to dentists in the community or to NDCS for further follow-up.

• Creating awareness of oral health topics through roadshows, public forums, and talks in the community, and at schools and workplaces.

• Conducting health services research to enhance the way care is delivered, and improve treatment outcomes.