Factors to Consider in Choosing a Dentist

With the large number of dentists and dental clinics available in Singapore, the challenge is in selecting a dentist that is appropriate for the dental needs of you and your family. Some factors to consider in selecting a dentist include (in no particular order):

Objectivity and Communication Skills – Is the dentist willing to listen, give you some alternatives to treatment and explain the benefits and risks of such treatment? Is he or she willing to answer your questions about the procedure?

Clinical skills – are you comfortable with the clinical skills of the dentist, either based on your personal experience or the experience of friends and family members?

Training and qualifications – are the dentist’s training and qualifications important to you? All Singapore general dental practitioners have basic training in routine dental procedures. However, if you are considering more specialized treatment, you may wish to consult a specialist (or more than one specialist) to determine if you are suitable for the particular procedure.

Experience – how much experience does the dentist have with a particular procedure? Is the dentist a newly minted one, or has he or she been in practice for an extended period of time?

Continued professional development – Does he or she attend Continuing Dental Education courses to keep current on clinical developments and innovations? Does the dentist teach at their local dental school or contribute scientific publication to professional journals?

Dental Team – if several different dental procedures are required, can they all be provided in the same clinic, or would you have to go to several different clinics to complete the procedure? This would be a consideration in terms of multiple appointments with different clinics, travel time and communications between treating/referring dentists and familiarity with the dental team and staff.

Accessibility – how accessible is the dentist? Is an emergency number provided? What other means of communication are there with the clinic or dentist?

Staff friendliness – how friendly and helpful are the dental staff?

Responsiveness - how responsive is the dentist and the dental staff? Are your calls or emails returned promptly?

Confidence level – how comfortable are you with the dentist and the staff? Is this a dental team that you can trust to take good care of you and your family’s dental needs? Remember, that since twice yearly visits to the dentist is important to maintain dental health, you will be visiting the dentist on a regular basis. It is important to have confidence and trust in the dentist as this is a long term relationship.

Putting The Sparkle Back Into Your Smile: A Dental Seminar That Bridges Function & Aesthetics

Trailers for “Putting the Sparkle Back into your Smile: A Dental Seminar that Bridges Function & Aesthetics” started airing on Channel NewsAsia today. The seminar, organized by Specialist Dental Group™ and Channel NewsAsia, will be held on Saturday, August 1, 2009 at the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore from 2pm to 5:30 pm. More information on the Seminar can be found at http://www.specialistdentalgroup.com/events.php. The trailer for the event can also be viewed at the link.

“This is the first time that Specialist Dental Group™ is embarking on such a major public education program. We thought that this was a great way to commemorate the 30th anniversary of our clinic,” said Dr. Neo Tee Khin, Partner and Prosthodontist with Specialist Dental Group™.

Specialist Dental Group™, formerly known as Henry Lee Dental Surgery, was founded by Dr. Henry Lee, a well-respected oral surgeon. Dr. Lee also placed the first titanium dental implants in Singapore more than 20 years ago and this strength in dental implants has continued to be reflected in the multi-specialty team at Specialist Dental Group™.

According to Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng, also a Partner and Prosthodontist with the clinic, six leading specialists from the clinic will be sharing their expertise with seminar attendees on the following topics:
· The Mouth & Body Connection;
· Restoring your Sparkling Smile;
· The Straight Truth about Braces;
· Dental Surgery Now Pain-Free; and
· Filling Gaps & Brightening Smiles

Tickets for the event can be purchased from SISTIC at http://www.sistic.com/

Major Sponsors of the Seminar include Nobel Biocare, Invisalign, Ezyhealth & Beauty and Cosmetic Surgery & Beauty.

Goody Bag Sponsors include Parkway Health, Lion Corporation, Sensodyne, Listerine, SA Dental Supply, Clorets, Vicks and Hisamitsu.

Follow Specialist Dental Group on Twitter

Specialist Dental Group is now on Twitter (http://twitter.com/specialistdenta). After months of hearing about the new phenomenon that is Twitter, we have decided to take the plunge and join the tens of thousands of netizens who regularly update friends with a response to the question - "What are you doing?"

If you would like to keep updated on the activities of our clinic and/or our team of dental specialists, do follow us on Twitter. Due to space constraints, we had to truncate our username to "SpecialistDenta" but you should still be able to recognize us by that name :)

We look forward to connecting with patients and all those interested in dental care / dentistry through our Blog and the other media below:

• Website
• Facebook Fan Page
• Twitter

Specialist Dental Group Unveils New Logos to Celebrate 30th Anniversary

Specialist Dental Group™ unveiled its new logos to commemorate a milestone in this leading specialty practice’s history – the celebration of its 30th anniversary this year.

According to Dr Ansgar Cheng, Partner and Prosthodontist with Specialist Dental Group™, the new logo’s shape symbolizes the Chinese character, “kou” (口), which means “mouth” while the little squares symbolize “teeth.” The orange square which has a sharp edge, stands out from the rest of the purple squares, and signifies that Specialist Dental Group™ differentiates itself through cutting edge specialized dental care.

“The orange colour also brings to mind, vibrancy. The forward slant of the logo incorporates our clinic’s passion to be progressive and our efforts to instill a culture of continuous learning and professional/ personal development,” said Dr Neo Tee Khin, Partner and Prosthodontist with the Group. “The purple colour denotes tradition and peace of mind, which reflects the long history of Specialist Dental Group™ (formerly Henry Lee Dental Surgery) in caring for the smiles of patients in Singapore and other countries,” said Dr Neo.

Both Dr Neo and Dr Cheng also suggested that the seven purple squares were analogous to the seven dental specialists forming the internationally trained / qualified team at Specialist Dental Group™ which works together seamlessly to provide leading edge dental solutions under one roof. “Many of our specialists are opinion leaders in their respective fields of practice,” added Dr Cheng.
A special logo to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Specialist Dental Group™ was also created to mark this special milestone. “Not many dental practices in Singapore have the distinction of being around for such a long time,” said Dr Neo. The late Dr. Henry Lee, founder of the clinic, was a well established oral surgeon who placed the first titanium dental implants in Singapore more than 20 years ago. This foundation has continued today with Specialist Dental Group™ being one of the leading private practice dental implant providers in Singapore.

Specialist Dental Group™ is one of the largest multidisciplinary dental specialist groups in Singapore. Services offered by Specialist Dental Group™ include dental implants (including Instant Implants™ and Teeth-in-an-Hour implants), orthodontics (braces and Invisalign), cosmetic dentistry (veneers and teeth whitening), oral surgery and gum treatment.

Connect with Specialist Dental Group™
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Sharing Expertise and Knowledge

April and May, especially the month of May, has been an incredibly busy month for the specialist team at Specialist Dental Group. Almost all of our dental specialists were giving presentations in Singapore or internationally during this period.

April

The month of April was off to a flying start with an Invisalign accreditation workshop conducted by Dr. Eugene Chan in Singapore on April 5, 2009.

Dr. Helena Lee then gave a presentation on Periodontics: Where function meets aesthetics. A role for hard and soft tissue grafting at the Singapore Dental Association Continuing Professional Education Program on April 22, 2009.

Indonesia was the port of call for Dr. Neo Tee Khin where he gave a presentation to the Basic Science to Implantology and Dental Implantology Study Group, organized by Indonesian Dental Association and Dr. Bastian Dental Clinic in Jakarta.

Closer to home, Dr. Ho Kok Sen was involved in giving a live demonstration for the Nobel Biocare Mentor Programme- Quickstart with NobelActive on April 29-30, 2009.

May

On May 1, 2009, Dr. Ansgar Cheng was in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, where he spoke on Clinical considerations of implant supported overdentures at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.

The third week of May will be an eventful week for 4 of our specialists as they are invited speakers in 4 different countries:

• Australia - Dr. Eugene Chan is speaking at the Invisalign accreditation workshop in Sydney on May 22, 2009
• India - Dr. Ho Kok Sen will be in Mangalore, India from May 23-24, 2009 as a speaker for the Certificate in Oral Implantology organized by the Manipal College of Dental Sciences in Mangalore.
• Malaysia - Dr. Ansgar Cheng will lecture at the Malaysian Association of Aesthetic Dentistry meeting on May 24 on the theme of Sharing Realistic Clinic Experience in Aesthetic Prosthodontics.
• Singapore: Dr. Elvin Leong will give a presentation in Chinese to the public on Losing your Precious Teeth - The Dentist has Options for Replacement organized by the Punggol Community Club on May 24, 2009

One of the visions of Specialist Dental Group is to contribute to the professional community in Singapore and internationally, as well as increase public awareness about dental health. Our dental specialists are regularly invited to speak at professional dental meetings and/or community events to share their knowledge and experience in dental procedures.

Many of our dentists are either current or former professors / faculty members at the National University of Singapore and other international universities. We also actively contribute professional articles to clinical journals such as the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Cosmetic Dentistry and the International Journal of Prosthodontics.

To find out more about the profile of our dental team, click here. News and media coverage of our clinic and dentists can also be found on our website together with links to our Facebook Fan Page.

Invisalign - A New Way to Straighten Teeth.... Without Anyone Knowing

Invisalign is an new way to straighten teeth without braces by using a series of clear removable aligners. When worn, the aligners are virtually invisible... - one patient reported that she wore Invisalign aligners for several days without anyone in her family or workplace noticing until she called it to their attention!

Invisalign was launched in Singapore in 2005 (it was launched in 2002 in Hong Kong and Australia). Specialist Dental Group has four Invisalign-accredited dentists on our team, including Dr Eugene Chan and Dr Patricia Yeong. Gone are the days of the "metal mouth".... with Invisalign, you can go about your daily activities with minimal disruption to your schedule. You can also eat anything you like as the aligners are removed for meals, and put on again after you have brushed your teeth....this also leads to better oral hygiene.

Background Facts

* Invisalign has been around for about 10 years in the USA - over 950,000 patients have been treated worldwide

* More than 52,000 dentists have been trained in Invisalign

* Over 500 new Invisalign cases everyday

* Over 20 million aligners have been shipped worldwide

How Invisalign Works

Invisalign uses clear aligners to move teeth. The aligners are changed every two weeks, allowing gradual movement of teeth and minimizing discomfort. These aligners are customized for every patient. Patients are generally given three sets of aligners and they only see the dentist every 6 weeks to check on the progress of their case. Thus, there is reduced frequency of appointments needed compared with braces which requires appointments on a monthly basis.

Key Benefits of Invisalign

1) Teeth are straighted invisibly - as mentioned above, few few people can tell that you are wearing Invisalign....it is analogous to wearing contact lenses :). Patients using Invisalign smile more during treatment and it does not affect their social life.

2) Invisalign aligners are removable - you can eat or drink anything and can easily brush/floss your teeth resulting in beetter oral hygiene. Studies have shown that Invisalign wearers have better oral hygiene and less gum problems compared with braces patients.

3) Comfortable - since there are no brackets, there are fewer abrasions to the mouth during treatment. The teeth also feel less sore since less force is used as the aligners are changed every two weeks, compared with the monthly adjustment for braces.

The Invisalign Consultation

Your dentist will examine your dental condition and discuss with you the various options to straighten your teeth, including the advantages and disadvantages of each method. If you decide to proceed with Invisalign, an impression of your teeth will be taken as well as a photograph (front and profile) of your current dental condition.

Your dental impression will be sent to a CT scanning machine and incorporated into the ClinCheck 3D animation software. This is a web-based computer program which will show the movement of your teeth from start to finish. Your dentist will discuss the ClinCheck case with you and make any necessary adjustments to your treatment plan. Once approved, all the clear customized aligners required for Invisalign treatment will be fabricated. For more information on Invisalign, please click here.

Gum Health and the Link to Heart Health

The Straits Times (April 2, 2009) cited a recent University of Buffalo study that concluded that heart patients had higher number of bacteria in their mouths compared to those without a history of heart problems. This is yet another publication that adds to the growing evidence of the link between oral health and overall health.

According to the study, the people who had the highest amount of bacteria in their mouths were the most likely to have had heart attacks. Four out of five (or 80%) of Singaporeans are believed to have some form of gum disease.

Specialist Dental Group has been active in trying to raise the awareness of the link between healthy gums and a healthy body. Our Consultant Periodontist, Dr Helena Lee, has been interviewed on Channel NewsAsia, Ezyhealth & Beauty magazine and the Shin Min Chinese newspaper about the mouth and body connection. She has also spoken on this topic at our recent public seminar in November.

For more information on gum treatment, please click here.

"Prevention is always better than cure. The take home message is to brush and floss regularly, and to keep your twice yearly appointment with your dentist. This is the best way to maintain your dental health and your overall health," says Dr. Lee.