Recipient Stories
“The seed funding from the Faculty Research Donation Fund allowed the initiation of a clinical trial to carry out a pilot study for the diagnosis and management of subjects with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD can affect oral health, in addition to severe gastro-intestinal effects. This multi-disciplinary research study, in collaboration with the NUH University Dental Cluster and Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, will provide preliminary data to enable the team to seek further competitive funding for translational research to improve health outcomes.”
– Principal Investigator Dr Hu Shijia
“Coming from a humble background, your contributions have truly aided my family in coping with our monthly expenses. My household comprised of my mother and I. My father passed away in 2010. Owing to an injury from her previous job, my mother is only able to do light work part-time and hence only earns a small income. It is insufficient to support both of us as well as our household and daily expenses. As such, I have to remain financially independent by relying on my savings from my past jobs as well as by giving tuition part-time after school since Year 1. It is a struggle, but the Tooth Fairy bursary has helped greatly to relieve our financial burden.”
– Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
“Due to the intensive nature of the BDS Course, working part-time to start saving for the bank loan repayment is difficult and almost impossible. Thankfully, SDA’s generosity to the SDA Dental Bursary would free up the much-coveted time to allow me to focus on the course. I can invest those time in firming up the concepts in what we do, how we do and why we do in Dentistry.”
– SDA Dental Bursary Recipient
“The scholarship has been a great encouragement to me. In the last three years of dental school, I have been blessed to witness, on many occasions, how dentists can make a difference to people anywhere. Receiving this scholarship has reminded me to pursue this vision of service to those around me; it has also reminded me to persevere even when there are difficulties along the way.”
- George Y Soh Scholarship Recipient
“I am very honoured to receive this bursary and am deeply appreciative of your kind support for making this possible. Without a doubt, this bursary has helped reduce my family’s financial burden. I will continue to work hard towards graduation and beyond.”
- IDEM Singapore Bursary Recipient
“The bursary has helped ease the financial pressures of school and allowed me to not only focus on the academic and clinical aspects of undergraduate dentistry, but also develop my interests outside of dental school. Thank you once again for your generosity.”
– Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
“After taking bank loan and NUS study loan, the remaining tuition fees payable still poses a financial burden. I am very grateful to receive a bursary which has helped greatly in my family situation so that I could remain focused on my studies.”
– Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
“Periodontitis (gum disease) is a bacterial induced condition that can be controlled if patients perform good oral hygiene practices e.g. toothbrushing and interdental cleaning with a dental floss or interdental brush. Therefore, I have an interest in understanding the patient's behaviours and oral hygiene practices.
The seed fund of $25,000 allowed us to conduct a randomised controlled trial to evaluate different oral hygiene tools in search of one that can help patients clean better around their dental restorations, specifically their implant crowns. We hope that the results will improve the oral hygiene instructions that we routinely give to our patients, so that they will have good oral health through time.”
– Principal Investigator Dr Fu Jiahui
“Coming from a humble background, your contributions have truly aided my family in coping with our monthly expenses. My household comprised of my mother and I. My father passed away in 2010. Owing to an injury from her previous job, my mother is only able to do light work part-time and hence only earns a small income. It is insufficient to support both of us as well as our household and daily expenses. As such, I have to remain financially independent by relying on my savings from my past jobs as well as by giving tuition part-time after school since Year 1. It is a struggle, but the Tooth Fairy bursary has helped greatly to relieve our financial burden.”
– Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
“Due to the intensive nature of the BDS Course, working part-time to start saving for the bank loan repayment is difficult and almost impossible. Thankfully, SDA’s generosity to the SDA Dental Bursary would free up the much-coveted time to allow me to focus on the course. I can invest those time in firming up the concepts in what we do, how we do and why we do in Dentistry.”
– SDA Dental Bursary Recipient
“I often try to scrimp and save because I want to minimize the financial burden that my education places on my family. Having received the Tooth Fairy bursary means, I can meet my daily needs such as food and transport independently without having to burden my parents. This makes the journey through dental school a lot more bearable.”
– Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
"The research funding has allowed me to complete my work looking into the use of 3D printed porous titanium for bone plates/implants to improve the production and performance of patient specific customised bone implants.
The ability to produce a product to fit only the patient's anatomy, improve on the biocompatibility and mechanical performance of the implants and yet making it lighter by being able to design specific porosities to also aid integration of these implants with bone is relatively new. These newer advances are part of the 4th Industrial Revolution which encompasses multifront advances in technology, advanced materials, 3D printing and advanced manufacturing."
- Principal Investigator Dr Raymond Wong, Research Fund Recipient
"You have lightened my financial burden, which allows me to concentrate more of my time on my academic pursuits. Thank you again for your generosity and support."
- SDA Bursary Recipient
"I am immensely grateful for the financial support provided by generous donors like you, who has made a great impact on my life and helped me make my Dentistry dreams come true. Without such support in place, it would have been difficult for me to purse my dream and passion due to the hefty course fees."
- Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
“Oral mucositis (OM) is a painful and an undesirable side effect of cancer therapy and affect approximately 40% of patients receiving chemotherapy, and 100% of those undergoing head and neck radiotherapy. There is growing interest in the applicability of probiotics in OM in view of its preliminary benefits shown in intestinal mucositis.
The donation of $10,000 enabled the conduct of a pilot randomized controlled clinical study to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Lactobacillus reuteri for OM in patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy.
Favourable results from this study will pave the way for industrial funding to support larger clinical trials and allow us to be recognized as one of the first groups to provide clinical data for probiotics in the management of cancer therapy-induced OM”
- Principal Investigator Prof Catherine Hong, Research Fund Recipient
“I would like to extend my gratitude for the SDA Dental Bursary. I’ve been working part time as a private tutor since Year 1. It was tough balancing both the rigorous Dental curriculum, work and student life. The SDA Dental Bursary has lifted some of the heavy burden off my shoulder as I could focus more on my studies.
I am very honoured to be given the opportunity to study Dentistry in the Faculty of Dentistry and I am enjoying every moment of it. I love how Dentistry blends science and math with art and creativity. I hope to make full use of my learning in the faculty so that I can give back to our community in the future. Once again, thank you for the bursary.”
- SDA Dental Bursary Recipient
“The SDA Endowment Fund has enabled us to reach out to more than 650 parents and caregivers of persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities in Singapore.
Through this study, we have gathered important information on the dietary patterns, oral health practices and utilisation of dental services among persons with disabilities, as well as the barriers they face in seeking dental care. This has enabled us to engage key stakeholders to improve the oral health of persons with disabilities.”
- Principal Investigator A/Prof Gao Xiaoli, SDA Endowed Fund Research Recipient
“Thank you so much for your generous donation. I really appreciate your kindness and am grateful that your contributions have eased my financial worries. Thanks to your efforts, I am better able to focus on studying and can take up a lower student loan. I am inspired by your actions to work harder and someday, be able to contribute to the future generations of dentists by helping them financially as well.”
- Tooth Fairy Bursary Recipient
“Money is required for good research to be conducted. Having access to a research grant has allowed us to carry out meaningful research that will advance the field of dentistry.
In our study, we found that Silver diamine fluoride, an increasingly important material to control cavities, can be potentially toxic to dental cells in certain conditions. This will lead to future research into optimizing the formulation or setting clinical protocols to ensure the safe usage of this material.”
- Principal Investigator Dr Hu Shijia, SDA Endowed Fund Research Recipient