Where to seek 24-hour dental services

16 Apr 2009, The Newpaper

Question

Name of the Person: Siti Nurhuda Johari

No appointment? No dental treatment

ONE night recently, around 3am, my husband woke up with a toothache. He had already made an appointment with a dentist nearby to get his teeth checked.

However, as he said the pain had become unbearable, I decided to call up a few hospitals to see if they provided 24-hour dental care. I called almost all the hospitals in Singapore and to my dismay, all of them informed me that their dental clinics operate only during office hours. And they would see patients only with appointments. No walk-in consultations would be allowed. I explained to the officers I spoke to that my husband's pain was very bad and asked if I could take him to the accident and emergency department so that he could get painkillers, and at the same time, make an appointment to have his toothache checked the following morning.

But I was told that the appointment had to be made earlier if we wanted to see a dentist in the morning. All they could offer were painkillers.

We decided that there was no need to go anywhere for that and my husband took some paracetamol, though that did not help much. I even checked the Internet to see if I could find a dental clinic that is open round the clock, but my efforts proved futile.

The next morning, we went to a few clinics to see if he could see a dentist without further delay, but again we were told we would need an appointment. My husband felt frustrated as the pain was excruciating by this time.

Finally, one clinic managed to slot my husband in, and we understood that this was only because one of their patients had failed to turn up. The dentist found that my husband's wisdom tooth had been excessively damaged and had to perform an emergency operation to remove it.

What I would like to know now is where one can turn to in a situation like this.

Reply

Reply from MOH 

In "No appointment? No dental treatment" (The New Paper, 14 Apr), Ms Siti Nurhuda Johari shared her difficulties in seeking dental treatment for her husband who had severe toothache late one night.

There are a number of private dental clinics that provide 24-hour emergency services. These can be found in the yellow-pages listing.

24-hour emergency dental services are also available at the A&E departments of the Singapore General Hospital, the National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital.

Even though complex dental surgeries are not available round the clock, A&E doctors in these hospitals are trained to recognise and manage simple dental toothaches and pains. During office hours, patients who need emergency dental services can seek treatment at polyclinics with dental services without the need for appointments.  Appointments are however needed for any elective cases.