News

Championing Smiles for Older Adults at the 3rd ASEAN Conference on Healthy Ageing

(Left-Right) The 6-member regional oral health team comprising Dr Gabriel Lee, NUS; Assoc Prof Jacob John,
Universiti Malaya; Prof Linda Kusdhany, Universitas Indonesia; Prof Waranuch Pitiphat, Khon Kaen University;
Asst Prof Chloe Meng Jiang, Hong Kong University; Assoc Prof Wong Mun Loke, NUS.

At the recent 3rd ASEAN Conference on Healthy Ageing held in Penang from 30 July 2024 – 1 August 2024, Assoc Prof Wong Mun Loke and Dr Gabriel Lee were part of a team comprising academics from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand who conceptualised and organised an oral health symposium and workshop for the participants.

This multi-disciplinary Conference was attended by participants from the medical, dental, nursing and allied health fraternities as well as other stakeholders with an interest in promoting the health and wellbeing of older adults. This year was the first time the conference included a segment on oral health which helped to heighten its importance in ageing.

The 6-member oral health team ran two back-to-back segments at the Conference which were attended by over 50 participants who came from diverse backgrounds including medical GPs, geriatricians, allied health professionals and dentists. The first segment was a symposium where Asst Prof Chloe Meng Jiang (Hong Kong), Prof Linda (Indonesia) and Prof Waranuch (Thailand) highlighted the common oral conditions as well as the oral-systemic interactions older adults are likely to face with age; the impact of oral disease on their overall wellbeing as well as possible strategies to help older adults achieve oral health.

Assoc Prof Wong (left) and Dr Lee (right) engaging the participants during the workshop.

This was followed by a workshop where Assoc Prof Wong and Dr Lee joined Assoc Prof Jacob (Malaysia) to help participants better appreciate the value of oral health for older adults, recognise the need for timely detection and referral of oral conditions using the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) as well as ways to overcome common challenges in promoting oral health among the geriatric population. A key takeaway from the workshop was the need for inter-disciplinary care for the older adults where non-dental members of the healthcare team are empowered to work collaboratively with oral healthcare professionals to holistically address the oral health and general wellbeing of older adults.

Dr Lee (left) and Assoc Prof Wong (right) at the 3rd ASEAN Conference on Healthy Ageing.

The Faculty’s presence at the Conference reflects its commitment to forge regional oral healthcare partnerships to champion and advance oral health promotion for older adults and enhance their overall wellbeing.