Expanding Dental Services Offered At Polyclinics

Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether polyclinic dental services will be expanded to include fabricating, repairing and fitting of dentures instead of having patients referred to tertiary institutions for such services; and (b) whether current MediSave rules preventing claims for dentures can be reviewed.

Polyclinic dental services already provide denture fabrication, repair and fitting services. However, complex denture cases that require specialist management are referred to tertiary institutions.

The Ministry of Health has recently announced higher subsidies for root canal treatments and permanent crowns. MediSave can be used for these treatments for those aged 60 and above in 2026, once the information technology systems are configured. We will continue to review the coverage of MediSave. It is important to strike a balance between improving affordability and ensuring that individuals have enough MediSave set aside to meet their future healthcare needs, especially major acute episodes that tend to happen in old age.