Our History
-> History
:Dental Education Through the Years
In October 1949, King Edward VII College of Medicine
amalgamated with Raffles College to form the University of Malaya.
King Edward VII College of Medicine then became the Faculty of
Medicine. The Department of Dentisty continued to be a Department
within the Faculty of Medicine.
After revising the courses of study in dentistry to conform to the General to the General Dental Council requirements, the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery was awarded in place of the Licence in Dental Surgery in 1950.
The Department of Dentistry later became a part of the University of Singapore which was founded as a separate university from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur on 1st January 1962. On 31 August 1966, the Department of Dentistry attained Faculty status. Professor Edmund Tay became the first Dean and led the dental school for 19 years.
On 8th August 1980, the University
of Singapore was merged with the Nanyang University to form the
National University of Singapore.
The Faculty premises were located
on the grounds of the Singapore General Hospital until 28th April
1986, when it occupied a three-storey modern complex in the National
University Hospital. 
Professor Loh Hong Sai, the second Dean led the school and saw to its development.
Professor Chew Chong Lin became the third Dean in 1995.During his tenure new initiatives like the competency based curriculum and Student Exchange Program (SEP) were introduced.
In 2001, another floor (4th level) was added to the existing building which included new features like a 185 seat auditorium with full theatre facilities, additional seminar rooms, student lounge cum computer lab, a multimedia development laboratory, dentistry IT Unit office, research lab space and a concourse area. These additional facilities will help faculty maintain its mission.
In 2001 Associate Professor Keson Tan became the 4th Dean taking over the mantle from Professor Chew Chong Lin, the immediate past Dean.
In 2002, the graduate school of dental studies was subsumed into the faculty and renamed the “Division of Graduated Dental Studies (DGDS) offering MDS residency training programs in 5 dental specialties.
Faculty became part of the National University Health System (NUHS) in 2008. The NUHS comprises the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM), the Faculty of Dentistry (FOD), the National University Hospital (NUH), the National University Cancer Institute, and the National University Heart Centre.
Due to the increasing demand for dental education, Faculty took in its first cohort of 48 first year students in 2009. It was also a significant year, as we celebrated 80 years of dental education with the launching of the 80th Anniversary Bursary Fund. Construction of the new FOD building began in June 2009 and the building was completed in December.
In January 2010, Associate Professor Grace Ong became the 5th Dean of the FOD. The dental school officially moved to its new building at the junction of Medical Drive and Lower Kent Ridge Road on 4th January to begin its Term III of its academic year 2009/10.
On 1st October 2011, the Faculty of Dentistry was restructured into a One-Department Faculty. This will streamline and facilitate the Faculty’s administration.
Under the new structure, Directors will administer the following discipline groups:
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Prosthodontics, Operative Dentistry & Endodontics
- Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry
- Periodontics
- Oral Sciences
- Primary Dental Care & Population Oral Health
The new set-up also facilitates further integration and synergy between NUS and NUHS.
In May 2016, Professor Patrick Finbarr Allen took over as the 6th Dean of the FOD.