Waiting Time for Dental Services at Public Healthcare Institutions and Proposal for More Polyclinics to Offer Dental Services

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the current average waiting time for subsidised dental services at public healthcare institutions; (b) whether the Ministry has plans to increase the number of polyclinics offering dental services; (c) how is the Ministry promoting dental health and raising awareness about subsidised dental services; and (d) whether there are plans to include dental care into the Primary Care Providers (PCPs) scheme and Healthier SG programme.

The waiting time for subsidised dental services depends on the type of service and urgency of the case. The median waiting time for new appointments for non-emergency, basic dental services at polyclinics is approximately three months. For specialist services at our national specialty dental centres, the waiting time is around one month. Emergency cases are seen on the same day.

Subsidised dental services in the community are currently available at 14 polyclinics. They are also available to eligible patients at over 900 private dental clinics under the Community Health Assist Scheme. The Ministry of Health monitors the demand for dental services and will further expand subsidised services, if necessary.

Oral health promotion and education predates Healthier SG and are already carried out in schools and by partners in the public and private sectors to effectively reach out to the target groups.