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Equipping Future Generations of Dentists to Bring Smiles to Seniors
As Singapore’s population ages, the demand for Geriatric Dentistry services increases. In response, NUS Faculty of Dentistry has taken initiatives to equip dental professionals with the skills necessary to manage the oral health needs of seniors.
By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above according to the Annual Population in Brief (2022). Faced with an ageing population, there has been an increased focus on elder care to ensure that seniors not only live longer but live well.
Apart from the well-established link between diabetes and periodontal disease, more recent studies have found that oral health is closely associated with seniors’ overall health and quality of life. It contributes towards effective chewing, healthy nutrition, speech, social confidence as well as better cognitive and functional capabilities among the elderly. There is also emerging literature around the impact of oral health on cognition and frailty. Considering how oral health is an important part of one’s well-being, the need to help seniors maintain good oral health cannot be underestimated. Not only does this set the stage for an increased emphasis on oral health education among the population but it also signals the need to equip future generations of dentists to effectively manage the oral health needs of seniors.
Acting Dean of NUS Dentistry, Associate Professor Wong Mun Loke shared, “With changing population demographics, it is important for our dental students to appreciate ageing-related issues and help them better manage older adults. Armed with this understanding and relevant clinical skills, they will be better able to engage the elderly and manage their oral health needs. Towards this end, the Faculty has enhanced the undergraduate curriculum to provide our students with additional exposure to Geriatric Dentistry as part of our ongoing efforts to future-proof our graduates.”
Building Competence of our Undergraduates from Didactics and Beyond
An undergraduate brushing a denture with simulated poor eyesight,
hearing and grip
to appreciate some of the challenges older adults may face.
To ensure a better understanding of seniors’ needs, NUS Dentistry offers our undergraduates training in Geriatric Dentistry. The curriculum goes beyond the didactic teaching of Geriatric Dentistry to focus on experiential learning which helps students to better appreciate the needs of our seniors. The “Grow Old with Me” (GOWM) workshop is an example of one such new learning activity that our third-year undergraduates participate in. During this workshop, students learn to empathise and experience the challenges faced by seniors through various simulation activities. They also understand how to transfer dependent patients from wheelchairs to dental chairs and to assist those with a walking aids. The lectures, tutorials and hands-on workshop complement the clinical training component of the curriculum, where students provide dental care to seniors, guided by their clinical supervisors.
Beyond learning on campus, students also gain the opportunity to visit nursing homes as part of their curriculum. Recently, our third-year students visited St Andrew’s Nursing Home where they had the opportunity to engage and interact with residents. Under the supervision of Faculty staff, students provided residents with oral health screenings and offered them tips on good oral hygiene habits. Given that senior care often requires multidisciplinary coordination across different healthcare professions, the students were able to interact with the nursing home staff to find out more about the residents’ needs where needed. In doing so, students had the experience of engaging in interprofessional collaborative care.
Third-year student, Ms Ashley Yim shared that the Geriatric Dentistry programme at the Faculty enabled her to better appreciate older patients’ oral health needs.
"The GOWM workshop was truly enriching and offered an eye-opening experience for me to understand the mobile and communications difficulties that geriatric patients faced. The skills acquired will prove invaluable in treating patients of all ages, making the initiative an exceptional opportunity to learn and make a difference in the community,” she added.
Dr Gabriel Lee, who helps to coordinate the Geriatric Dentistry programme, added, “It’s important that we bring our students beyond the classroom and into the community where some of our seniors reside. It is in these settings that our students can apply what they have learnt in school to engage seniors like those in the nursing homes.”
Undergraduates offering oral care tips to a resident at
St Andrew’s Nursing Home (Queenstown).
Geriatric Dentistry Training for Dental Graduates
At the postgraduate level, NUS Dentistry has been running the two-year Graduate Diploma in Geriatric Dentistry (GDGD) programme since 2019. This programme aims to help practising dental surgeons to advance their skills in managing seniors in the community. It also places emphasis on the management of seniors who are more functionally dependent and have complex medical conditions or other issues such as cognitive decline. Through training in clinical and nursing home settings, students can comprehend the challenges of managing dental patients with complex medical conditions such as physical or cognitive disabilities. These patients may face dental issues such as rampant dental caries and chronic periodontal diseases often due to a reduced ability to maintain good oral hygiene, which in turn can adversely affect their overall quality of life.
A GDGD postgraduate screening a resident of St Andrew’s Nursing Home (Queenstown).
As part of its commitment to address the needs of an ageing population, the National University Centre for Oral Health Singapore (NUCOHS) has recently opened a specialised dental clinic for geriatric patients at Alexandra Hospital. This clinic provides GDGD graduates an excellent opportunity to gain practical experience in treating seniors and understanding their oral health needs.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Madam Rahayu Mahzam who attended the official opening of the clinic on 3 April 2023 shared that, “Through this new dental clinic, the Faculty will be able to provide enhanced clinical training opportunities for qualified dentists pursuing the graduate diploma. In addition to postgraduate training, the Faculty also incorporates the teaching of geriatric dentistry in its undergraduate curriculum. This ensures that newly qualified dentists are able to competently manage senior patients.”
With appropriately curated programmes, NUS Dentistry hopes to continue partnering our students and alumni to develop and advance themselves to better engage and bring about smiles to our seniors.