Debated in Parliament on 6 May 2026.
Ms Elysa Chen asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health in view that poor oral health is a primary driver of inadequate nutrition in seniors, (a) whether dental screening and malnutrition risk assessment will be integrated as a routine pathway under Healthier SG; and (b) what plans exist to expand subsidised dental and denture services for seniors at risk of malnutrition.
My response will also address the Parliamentary Question 31 for written answer raised by Ms Elysa Chen for the sitting on 5 May 2026. [Please refer to "Introduction of Standardised Malnutrition Screening at Polyclinics and Active Ageing Centres", Official Report, 5 May 2026, Vol 96, Issue 29, Written Answers to Questions section.]
The Ministry of Health had addressed the issue of malnutrition screening when we shared our comprehensive approach to tackle senior malnutrition in our response to Parliamentary Question No 43 at the 4 November 2025 Parliamentary Sitting and Parliamentary Question No 18 at the 3 February 2026 Sitting. [Please refer to "Contributing Factors to Rise in Malnutrition among Older Singaporeans", Official Report, 4 November 2025, Vol 96, Issue 9, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section; and "EatWise SG Performance Indicators for Detecting Malnutrition Risk among Seniors, Current Performance Levels and Annual Targets for Nutrition Screenings", Official Report, 3 February 2026, Vol 96, Issue 15, Written Answers to Questions section.]
We will continue with these efforts to enhance the capability of healthcare providers to identify seniors at risk of malnutrition and provide better diet and nutrition guidance, as well as ensure the provision of affordable meals.
We recognise that good dental health is an important enabler for seniors to have a nutritious diet. We have put in place several measures to help seniors access dental care regularly, including those at risk of malnutrition. First, dental screening is available through Project Silver Screen, where seniors aged 60 and above can receive dental, vision and hearing screening in community nodes, such as Active Ageing Centres. This enables the early detection of dental problems and referral to Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) dental clinics for follow-up. To further improve affordability of dental care within the community, CHAS dental subsidies were enhanced in October 2025, extending subsidies for 10 preventive dental procedures to CHAS Orange cardholders and increasing subsidy caps for seven restorative procedures (including dentures) for Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation and CHAS Blue and Orange cardholders.
The Government has introduced different initiatives to tackle malnutrition. We encourage everyone to take advantage of these and play an active role in caring for their own health by adopting good dietary and dental habits.
PAPERCUTS