Prof Chew Chong Lin

Dear Colleagues

"What's happening at the Faculty?" a question often posed by past graduates. Well, the Faculty is proud to launch its inaugural issue of our newsletter to keep you, our alumni, informed of the activities and progress made in your alma mater. This is our way of reaching out to you, with 2 such publications each year.

Late last year, you received the Faculty publication and we would be happy to receive your feedback on that issue. We look forward to hearing from you so that we can keep one and all informed through this newsletter.

The Faculty has been at its present location for almost 11 years and though we have made great strides, we are working towards doing better to prepare our graduates for the 21st century. We seek your support to achieve this.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

To the staff who have worked hard to produce this newsletter, the Faculty extends to you our grateful thanks.

Professor Chew Chong Lin

by Dr Kelvin Foong

The Dental Mirror, conceived with the aim of promoting closer ties with the Dental, Medical and University communities in Singapore and within the region, comes at an opportune time as the Faculty of Dentistry forges ahead into the 21st century.

It has been 10 years since the Faculty relocated from the old premises in Sepoy Lines to the present at the National University Hospital. The achievements in research and teaching, and contributions to clinical service by the Faculty since have been substantial. Looking ahead, we intend to achieve more in the next decade. With the dental curriculum under revision, the Faculty will adopt a problem-based teaching approach that not only makes learning exciting but also helps students develop an approach to problem solving they could carry into dental practice. Cognizant of the vast amount of information available at the touch of a computer keyboard the Faculty has embarked on making dental education using computer technology a norm in the next millennium.

As an educational institution, the Faculty strives to establish a good rapport between our dental and medical colleagues through a healthy understanding of each other's professional contribution in total health care. The Dental Mirror serves this function, and thus reflects the Faculty's role and contribution to the University and that of the nation.