Medisave already allowed for dental surgeries at private clinics

18 Nov 2009, The Straits Times

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Ng Yong Kheng

Allow Medisave for private clinics

MS HO Suit Keng's concern in her letter last Wednesday ('Why the long wait for dental care at govt clinics?), about people who are suffering from toothache and gum infection not getting prompt dental care, is worrying.

We pride ourselves as a country where medical and dental treatment is readily available to everyone. Increasing the number of dentists will not solve the current problem.

Unlike in Britain, where patients visit private clinics and get subsidised dental treatment, Singaporeans are allowed subsidised treatment only at SingHealth and National Health Group (NHG) polyclinics.

Permanent residents and foreign workers pay up to four times what Singaporeans are being charged. Little wonder polyclinics are flooded with patients who want to benefit from their citizenship.

But if the wait is so long, by the time a sufferer sees the dentist four to six months later, she may not be able to save the tooth.

Also, at polyclinics, only simple treatments are carried out, like scale and polish, extractions and simple fills.

More complex treatments are referred to the National Dental Centre, in the case of the SingHealth group of polyclinics.

NHG's polyclinics allow immediate upgrades if you pay a premium - then you get first-class care. Options for more complex treatments are also available upon upgrade.

The answer is to let patients use their Medisave to pay for dental treatment at private clinics, which will charge fees whose amounts are recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

My suggestion is akin to the management of chronic diseases in medical private clinics. Studies have shown that gum disease and coronary heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes are related. If we can encourage people to visit the dentist regularly, we can promote better management of these chronic diseases as well.

Saturday's joint reply by the National Dental Centre and MOH ('Specialist dental appointments within 2 weeks') to Ms Ho's concern does not seem to address the problem of getting prompt dental treatment for patients who need them, which is a recurring problem.

Reply

Reply from MOH 

In "Allow Medisave for private clinics" (ST, Jan 18), Dr Ng Yong Kheng suggested the use of Medisave at private dental clinics to reduce the waiting times for "people who are suffering from toothache and gum infection".

First, Medisave is allowed for dental surgical procedures. In fact, more Medisave claims take place in private clinics than in public institutions. We do not however allow Medisave usage for non-surgical dental outpatient treatment as Medisave contribution rates have not priced in the funding of such procedures. While Medisave cannot be used, these services are provided with heavy subsidy for the needy elderly through 180 private dental clinics under the Primary Care Partnership Scheme.

Second, such patients with "toothache and gum infection" requiring urgent treatment are attended to promptly at any of our public dental clinics.  They are not put on a waiting list.

The recent feedback on long waiting times came from patients asking for non-emergency elective treatments, such as braces and dentures.  As these are elective procedures, heavy subsidy without means-testing inevitably leads to long queues. Nonetheless, we will do our best to shorten the waiting time.