Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

Last week’s June 1 reminded me of the encounter I had with a man in 2010. It was a nice and sunny day in tropical Singapore. Little did I know that this day would turn out to be a very special one: It was the day I met with Mr. Santoso.

I remembered seeing him from far down the corridor that day and he looked a little frail. His head hung down, a piece of gauze stuck out at his neck and he walked rather slowly. I thought that this older gentleman could need some help from a geriatrician (a specialist who helps manage medical care for older people). So, you can imagine my surprise when Mr. Santoso showed up at our clinic instead. His family told us that he had undergone a jaw tumor surgery about half a year ago in a neighbouring country and he had not been able to eat, drink and talk properly. He had also been pretty much home bound since his treatment. He was told that nothing much could be done to improve his condition. A metal plate visible in his mouth and pus was constantly discharged from his neck. I thought he was in his 70s but in fact, he had just barely passed his 50^th birthday!

As usual, we did a thorough clinical examination and we took a digital computer radiograph of his mouth.  We noticed that approximately 70% of his lower jaw was missing as a result of the tumour surgery.  It was clear that his surgery had successfully eradicated the tumor and that he would not suffer a relapse. However, the resulting surgical defect would slowly consume him as he wasn’t able to talk and eat normally. As a matter of fact, he has been out of his managerial position since his surgery.

After some in-depth discussions both with him and internally, with reconstructive surgeons, we embarked on a plan to reconstruct his lower jaw using a bone from the lower leg (fibula free-flap) and dental implants (early/immediate loading, early rehabilitation). To cut the clinical story short, our team managed to successfully reconstruct his lower jaw using his own leg bone and dental implants were then placed into the newly constructed jaw. He is now a totally new man.

 To achieve this for him, here is what the reconstructive and oral surgeons did:

(1)    We used a leg bone to replace his missing lower jaw defect and successfully connected the blood supply during surgery to ensure the vitality of the new jaw bone.

(2)     It was crucial to have the bone shaped exactly the same as his previous lower jaw so that it perfectly matched his upper jaw

(3)    The placement of dental implants anchored his new teeth with early rehabilitation

(4)    Last but not the least, we preserved his normal leg function in spite of the bone removal from his lower leg

Years ago, when I first started treating cases like Mr. Santoso, the treatment may take up to a year to complete. In his case, in a fraction of the time, we managed to get him up and running again (literally).

Mr. Santoso lives an active life today, he works like he used to, travels to Singapore with his family from time to time, walks up and down Orchard road to shop, enjoys good food and swims like fish.

Our team saw him a few weeks ago in his third year follow up examination and he was in good spirits. One good problem I noted was that he had to get new clothes – he had been gaining some healthy weight. He made our day.

* We would like to thank Mr. Santoso who has given permission to share his case study so that others who have a similar condition would know that it is still possible for them to regain their quality of life after such a major surgery.

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients.

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

Today, one of our interns showed up out of the blue to thank us. Why? He was given a chance to go for his dental education to become a dental surgeon! This is one of our proudest moments.

What is education? According to an online dictionary, education is defined as “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the power of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.”

Throughout the years, we have had a number of students spend some time at our clinic to give them an opportunity to explore whether dentistry was an option for them as a long term career. It was nice to see all those bright minds and it was always an eye-opener for us to see their 21^st  century perspective.

Gone are the days that a few A-level distinctions would guarantee a place in the dental school.  In the past few years, when I served as a dental school entrance interviewer for the National University of Singapore, among the many hundreds of grades that I encountered, I have seen way more distinctions than non-distinctions. Many of the candidates came in with a stack of impressive CVs that would impress any reasonable human being. They can discuss almost any topic under the sun intelligently.

Mind you though, out of numerous applicants, only a small fraction of the students are selected for an interview, and an even smaller fraction is selected for dental school admission. These successful applicants then embark on an extended period of very tough training.

Interestingly, after that long drawn dental school training, when they reach their final examination, some candidates may encounter some significant problems. There is no secret that some of them may even have to re-take their final examination in order for the school to ensure the “product” (i.e., the new dental surgeons) is of good quality and safe to serve mankind. Knowing the nature of a re-examination, if one thinks doing the final examination is stressful and painful (due to the sheer volume of books that one needs to hit), think again!!

I have also been serving as an external examiner for the ‘re-exam’ students for a few years. In essence, I have been serving at the entrance as well as the exit of the NUS dental school. In both positions, I have had to give up a few days of clinical practice. In both cases, I am doing the same work: quality control (QC). My mother would not have guessed that I would be doing QC work one day…

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients.

How was 2012 for you? At Specialist Dental Group (SDG), we found that 2012 just passed in a flash. Here is a quick recap of the highlights of 2012:

Milestones

A major milestone for SDG in 2012 was being the Recipient of “Best Healthcare Experience” of the Singapore Experience Awards. This is an annual award ceremony organized by the Singapore Tourism Board to recognize companies and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the tourism industry in Singapore.

The SDG team was absolutely delighted and excited as this was the third year in a row that our clinic had been a top 3 finalist in this category, and we were sharing the finalist category with esteemed companies such as Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

We were also honoured to be able to present a donation of $20,800 (from our dentists and staff) to the Rainbow Centre in December 2012 to support the operations of the dental clinic. Dr Elizabeth Tan, our specialist in Pediatric Dentistry, has been a long-time volunteer with the Rainbow Centre, and together with a team of other dedicated volunteer dentists, has been treating the dental needs of about 900 special needs students at the Rainbow Centre.

New Staff and Members of the SDG Family

We gave a warm welcome to our new staff who added even more international flavour to our diverse team:

• Nicole, our accounts and HR executive, who is from Malaysia originally;
• Farah, our Marketing Communications executive who hails from Indonesia;
• Soyoung, our dental nurse, who moved from Korea to Singapore in search of warmer weather… and
• Lena from Indonesia, who used to work with us a few years back in Business Affairs.

Further additions to the SDG Family included:

• two baby boys, born to Dr Helena Lee and Dr Ho Kok Sen respectively.
• Three weddings – Dr Elvin Leong, our nurse Lavinya’s Registry of Marriage ceremony, and Lena’s wedding in Medan.

It was certainly a joyful year with all our new additions.

Professional Activities

Our SDG team of dental specialists continued to be active in sharing their clinical and professional knowledge with dental colleagues in Singapore and the region.

• Dr Ansgar Cheng lectured in five countries this year – in Hong Kong, Los Angeles (USA), London (UK), Medan (Indonesia) and Singapore.
• Dr Neo Tee Khin gave several lectures in Singapore and Indonesia
• Dr Helena Lee attended several seminars in Singapore to maintain on the cutting edge of her specialty area of periodontics (gum treatment)
• Dr Ho Kok Sen lectured in Singapore and also made a trip to Portugal as part of continual dental education in the area of implant dentistry
• Dr Elvin Leong gave talks in Indonesia and Myanmar
• Dr Francis Lee attended several conferences in Singapore on orthodontics
• Dr Elizabeth Tan attended conferences on pediatric dentistry locally and internationally
• Dr Daylene Leong delivered some presentations in Singapore and also travelled to Melbourne, Australia for continual dental education in dental implants
• Dr Eugene Chan continued to give workshops on Invisalign in the Asia region including Singapore, China, and Taiwan.

In addition to the lectures and conferences above, our team of dentists maintained their academic contribution to the dental community in Singapore through their teaching positions with the National University of Singapore. They continued to be active in the respective professional organizations including College of Dental Surgeons of Singapore, Society of Periodontology Singapore and Prosthodontics Society Singapore.

Our dentists were also featured in media interviews in the Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, 95.8 Capital Radio, 93.8 Radio, Ezyhealth & Beauty and many more.

Our nurses and administrative staff continued to attend education events to further improve their skills.  These included a hands-on implant course during the IDEM dental meeting, an Invisalign course and other customer service classes.

Fun Stuff

At SDG, we believe that the team that plays together, stays together and works well together. Thus, we had several social and sporting events throughout 2012 which gave us a chance to get some fresh air and exercise while having fun in the process!

Our healthy group participated in the following events in 2012:

• Terry Fox Run in January – our runners helped to raise funds for cancer research and had an invigorating morning run by the beach
• Nike Goddess Run in April – an evening run for ladies in Sentosa (with rain at the tail end);
• The first SDG Games Day – our dentists and staff pitted their skills in Captain Ball and badminton against each other in good fun followed by a good meal
• Shape Run in July – fun morning run in the city for our energetic ladies
• The New Paper Big Walk in August – our guys and girls walked around the city to Marina Barrage
• 100Plus Passion Run in November – our evening run by the beach at East Coast Park followed by a yummy barbeque

We also had fun showing four year-old students of the Little Skool House around the clinic when they came to visit us in March this year. They were a group of really smart and well behaved kids and we hope that their experience visiting the clinic will make them take a positive view of dentists and dental clinics in their future..

That wraps up our busy year in 2012. We are looking forward to some exciting events in 2013. Do watch this space to keep updated on our news.

Wishing all our patients and colleagues a very happy, healthy and successful 2013. Do keep in touch with us through “liking” our Facebook page and subscribing to our Blog. If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to know more about, do drop us a line at info@specialistdentalgroup.com

Christmas and New Year is a time for celebration and gatherings of family, friends and colleagues. How can we forget staying up a bit late, tons of good food and a couple of drinks too?

Over the last few years, the Specialist Dental Group team have encountered a few interesting emergency situations as a result of the holiday season celebrations.

Some of these dental emergencies have arisen from the following situations:

• Accidents from over-consumption of alcohol

We have experienced being called to attend to dental emergencies as a result of people walking into glass doors after a night of drinking! There was once a case where this elegant young couple in the middle of the night because the pretty lady was a little drunk and she hit the glass door after losing her balance on her stiletto shoes.

In cases like that, the net outcome is usually as follows – the reinforced glass door stays intact and the teeth, lips, and, sometimes even the nose, get the brunt of the damage!! We have certainly stitched up enough lips and fixed many teeth as a result of that!

• Eating-related incidents

Good food usually are those foods which are ‘rare,’ i.e., special occasion delicacies. Turkey, ham, nuts, chocolates alike are great for our palate but they are challenges to our teeth. On more than one occasion, we have had people showing up on an emergency basis because they had their teeth chipped due to biting hard nuts, nutshells, and hidden pieces of bone in a big chunk of turkey! Veneers and braces have also been known to be dislodged due to the food being consumed.

After the holiday season, we also have people coming in with gum problems. Overworked teeth and gums combined with less time for tooth brushing is an almost perfect formula for acute periodontal abscesses!

• Dental pain

It is not uncommon to receive a frantic call or email on the eve of the holiday to the effect that the person is in unbearable pain and needs to have urgent treatment… but all the dental clinics in town are either closed for the holiday or it is after office hours.

In these cases, the issue is usually either a root canal flare up, or an infected and impacted wisdom tooth. One incident is that of a young lady who was in Germany for the Christmas and New Year holiday several years ago when she had a root canal infection. All the dental clinics in the German city were closed from Christmas eve to the Boxing Day holiday. She was popping pain-killers every three hours and looking for relief. As she was a family friend, she emailed and asked if we could assist. The staff explored the possibility of couriering medication over to her but it would have taken too long with the holiday season. In the end, she cut short her trip and flew to Singapore to have root canal treatment. She was pain-free and ready to party well before New Year’s Eve!

One pattern that have been observed over the years is that when it comes to dental emergencies during the holiday season, there is no pattern at all  -  anything and everything can happen. As a result, we try to ensure that at least one member of our dental team is available to stand by should a dental emergency arise during the holiday season.

Nonetheless, we always hope for a peaceful and incident-free festive period for our patients and hardworking team alike. Wishing all our colleagues warm holiday greetings and a Happy and Healthy 2013!

You can visit our website www.specialistdentalgroup.com for more information on any dental related topics.

The Rainbow Centre Dental Clinic received a much needed boost today with a cheque of $20,800 from Specialist Dental Group to help with its operating costs.

According to June Tham, Executive Director of the Rainbow Centre, “The dental clinic at Rainbow Centre is not funded by any source, and hence, the donation by Specialist Dental Group is certainly very welcome.”

[Photo: Lee Wee Song and Professor Lee Eng Hin from the Rainbow Centre, Moonlake Lee, Dr Elizabeth Tan, Dr Helena Lee and the nurses from Specialist Dental Group]

 “Specialist Dental Group celebrates its 33^rd anniversary this month and we thought it would be a meaningful way to commemorate our anniversary and also contribute to a very worthy cause,” says Dr Helena Lee, Specialist in Periodontics with SDG.  Dr Lee’s father, the late Dr Henry Lee, founded the clinic in 1979, and the Group has grown to three clinics at the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre with a team of nine dental specialists covering five specialty areas of dentistry. The clinic’s dentists have, individually and corporately, consistently donated to charitable causes over the years.

According to Dr Lee, “The Rainbow Centre Dental Clinic is close to our heart as Dr Elizabeth Tan, our Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry, has been a volunteer dentist with the Rainbow Centre for 13 years. Our team of paediatric dental nurses also assist Dr Tan with patients on a monthly basis at the Rainbow Centre.”  The fundraising initiative originated with the SDG nurses who decided to replace their usual Christmas gift exchange with an activity that would benefit a charitable cause. They selected the Rainbow Centre to be the beneficiary, and one thing led to another, and the donations snowballed when the dentists contributed generously, and were matched by SDG management.

“Dr Tan, along with Dr Myra Elliot, initiated the setting up of the dental clinic to provide dental screening and treatment to all the students at the Rainbow Centre. Through her efforts and the efforts of our dedicated volunteer dentists, our 900 students are able to access affordable quality dental services,” says June Tham, Executive Director of the Rainbow Centre. The Rainbow Dental Clinic was launched in 1999. The clinic is part of the holistic approach to intervention at Rainbow Centre to serve the health needs of their students.

History of Giving

The donation to the Rainbow Centre is the latest in the charitable work and contributions of Specialist Dental Group dental specialists and staff that dates back over 30 years when the clinic’s late founder, Dr Henry Lee donated a dental chair and equipment to first set up the dental clinic at the Ling Kwang Home for the Aged many years ago. He also strongly believed in the work of Boys’ Town Singapore and gave free treatment to the Brothers who ran it as well as donated regularly.

Two years ago, Dr Helena Lee donated $20,000 to the National University of Singapore to establish the Gold Medal for Distinction in the Master of Dental Surgery program in Oral Surgery, in honour of her late father, Dr Henry Lee. She has been supporting The Straits Times Pocket Money Fund almost every year since its inception. When she had her second child this year, she also matched all the red packets donated for the baby’s full moon and donated the amount to Boys Town, because they were desperately raising money to complete their re-building effort.

As a clinic, Specialist Dental Group has supported the Canadian Association of Singapore’s Annual Teddy Bear and Toy Drive to support the KK Hospital Endowment Fund for several years, donated funds to the Singapore Cancer Society as part of the Terry Fox Run, donated blood in the hospital blood drive, supported World Vision’s Life Changing Gifts’ and Child, Sponsorship Campaign, donated to the North East Lunch Box Fund, supported the Philippines Typhoon Donation, and other donations for disaster relief.

About Specialist Dental Group

Specialist Dental Group (SDG) is an award-winning specialty dental practice in Singapore. SDG’s strength lies in its ability to provide comprehensive specialist care for complex dental cases, where patients can access leading specialists from different specialty areas of dentistry with one appointment.

SDG was the Recipient of “Best Healthcare Experience” in the Singapore Experience Awards 2012 and Winner of “Promising Brands” in the Singapore Prestige Brand Award 2011. Key specialty services provided include dental implants, crowns, gum treatment, oral and jaw surgery, braces, Invisalign and children’s dentistry. The SDG clinical team is active in teaching and training dentists and specialists in Singapore and the region. For more information, visit www.specialistdentalgroup.com

About Rainbow Centre

The Rainbow Centre runs an Early Intervention Program for children and two special needs schools –  Rainbow Centre – Margaret Drive School and Rainbow Centre – Yishun Park School. The schools serve 900 children with a diverse range of special needs ranging from Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and multiple disabilities.

The Rainbow Centre was established in 1992 and is a charity registered under the Charities Act. It is an Institution of Public Character (IPC) and a full member of the National Council of Social Service. For more information, please visit http://www.rainbowcentre.org.sg/

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

It was on a wonderful Friday night, on the lap of with my mother, that I was introduced to the idea of the British secret service. My mother’s younger brother, uncle BW, was a big fan of the 007 series, and I believe my childhood had officially retired  the moment I started watching the movie ‘Dr No’ starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress.

For the first time, I noticed the importance of world peace, out-of this-world gadgets, fast cars, and exceptional beauties. Noting the mortality rate of the actors and actresses in that movie, I also concluded that it was better to live in my little normal world since a career in the secret service was probably too risky for my mother’s taste. Since that time, I would not miss any 007 movies.

Over the weekend, my sweet wife decided to give me a treat of 007 and we went for a late night show of the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. Daniel Craig faired well as 007, but in my opinion, Sean Connery, at 32 years of age, was the ‘real’ 007.

As usual, the bad guy was tracked down by 007 after a lot of work (and some women), this time the bad guy was an ex-agent of MI6. He became a bad guy after he was captured by the enemies. In order to stay loyal, he attempted suicide by swallowing a cyanide pill that was hidden inside his back tooth (now that raised my interest even more). Somehow he survived the pill but the acidity of the pill destroyed his mouth instead. In the movie, he showed M (and the audience) the damage by removing his upper teeth and his face dramatically sunk in. That is what in the ‘Glossary of Prosthodontics terms’ is called an obturator dental prosthesis.

…Well, enough of spoiling the plot for those who has yet watched the movie.

Now, let us talk a little about the technical stuff. An obturator prosthesis is used for upper jaw defects. It is supposed to replace the missing dentition as well as the missing upper jaw and facial bones. As a maxillofacial prosthodontist, I can tell you that in order to fabricate such prostheses, a very detailed 3-dimensional impression of the upper jaw and facial bone is needed. In many cases, dental implants are needed and that increases its complexity too.

Maxillofacial prosthodontics is a highly specialised, demanding area and currently requires an additional 4 years of full-time training in a major centre after dental school in order to be considered educationally qualified to do such job. In addition, a few more examinations are needed to be considered specialty board certified. It is my estimation that no more than 25 of such specialists are trained in the US annually.

For the first time, I wish the MI6 people emailed me before they deployed 007. I could have easily given MI6 a list of my colleagues who are capable of doing such a rehabilitation job and MI6 could have tracked down the villain as a result. That would have spared my dear 007 from running around the world to catch the villain and that stunning beauty would not be shot in the process!  (I promise I will not spoil the plot anymore)

In the last few days, I treated 5 international patients with similar treatment needs from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, China and Russia but I am 100% sure they are good people. After all, we are lucky that villains only exist in 007 movies. Let us keep it that way.

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients.

Specialist Dental Group (SDG), received an early 33^rd anniversary present when it won the “Best Healthcare Experience” category of the Singapore Experience Award 2012. The multi-specialty dental practice, based at the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, had been one of three finalists in this category for the past three years.  SDG’s consistent efforts (and success) in elevating its experience level for patients had impressed the judges during the stringent judging process.

The Awards Ceremony was held at Shangri-La Hotel on October 15, 2012 when Singapore’s leading experience providers were honoured for their remarkable contribution to the country’s tourism industry.

“Our mission as a healthcare provider lies in our commitment to our patients’ needs at all times and not just when they are sitting in our dental chair,” says Dr Neo Tee Khin, Co-Managing Director and Prosthodontist at Specialist Dental Group.

“Patients benefit from being able to access several different types of dental specialists at the same appointment,” says Dr Ansgar Cheng, Co-Managing Director and Prosthodontist with SDG. “The result is a comprehensive team-based approach to specialty dental treatment,” adds Dr Cheng.

Dr Neo states, “Winning the Best Healthcare Experience category really boosts our confidence in our delivery of an excellent experience for our patients and this is something that we strive for in our daily patient interactions.”

SDG was also a Winner in the Promising Brands category of the Singapore Prestige Brand Awards 2011. The practice was formerly known as Henry Lee Dental Surgery, named after its founder, the late Dr Henry Lee, who placed the first dental implants in Singapore 28 years ago. It changed its name to Specialist Dental Group in 2008 to reflect the breadth and depth of the comprehensive specialty services offered by its leading team of dentists.

About Specialist Dental Group

Specialist Dental Group (SDG) is an award-winning specialty dental practice in Singapore. SDG’s strength lies in its ability to provide comprehensive specialist care for complex dental cases, where patients can access leading specialists from different areas in one appointment. Today, SDG has three clinics at the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre and a team of nine leading dentists in five specialty areas with over 140 years of cumulative experience.

Having all its specialists in one place also improves communication among them resulting in an excellent standard of care and convenience for patients. Given the central location of the clinic in a premier medical centre, patients can also schedule their medical and dental visits on the same day in the same building, minimizing the need to take extra time off their busy schedules.

For more information, visit our website.

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

Diamonds are almost synonymous with value.

Last week I had two very special encounters that were diamond-related – I visited a jeweler and a senior executive from a very well established jewelry store visited me.

Some have said that “Diamonds are girl’s best friend.” After all, almost all women love to see some sparkle on their hands. It has been suggested that an engagement ring should be at least two months worth of the man’s salary.  Now, men cannot complain about this because a yes to family formation from the lady is worth tons more than that engagement diamond.

I had the opportunity to visit ‘The Jewel Box’s Singapore office last week. First thing first, it is an old saying that jewellers take generations to succeed in the business. Simply, it is a business where trust and business reputation, which can only be developed over a long period of time, is of utmost importance. After all, being a jeweller involves a large sum of money on the trade and retail front. It was, therefore, impressive to see that Vinod and Sangeeta More, the owners of ‘The Jewel Box’ managed to build the business in a relatively short period of time!

Creating custom jewelry is a fine art. On the other hand, it is amazing to see how much science is in the diamond business to ensure it is fairly valued and the client is having a fair deal.

Within a span of mere hours prior to my visit to The Jewel Box, I had a visitor from Omaha, Nebraska, USA who visited our dental clinic. Jennifer works at Borsheims, a company that was founded in 1870 and it is one of the biggest jewel stores in the USA. The Chinese have a saying: “It is such joy to see friends from afar” (子曰：有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎) – No doubt Jennifer helped to prove that point. We managed to share part of our life with Jennifer even though I was rushing over to give a seminar with the graduating class at the National University Singapore Dental School. Jennifer also brought us good news that her big boss, Mr. Warren Buffet, was doing well after his medical treatment.

After the visits, after thinking about it, I believe we are in the same line of work! Of course, we at Specialist Dental Group do not sell diamonds but we use zirconia material and computer technology for making new teeth. Zirconia is a distant cousin of man-made diamonds. It is strong and teeth-like in color. At our office, our experience with zirconia teeth for our crowns has been fantastic.

Similar to the diamond business, our pride and joy is to see what gets out of our doors serves people well for a long period of time. That is value creation!

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients.

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

Evidence-based clinical practice has been taught for many years now. With the advance of research and computer technology, many things once thought impossible are now a reality in everyday practice. For example, years ago we needed about six to nine months to implant new teeth with a high 90% success rate. Nowadays, we can achieve the same dental implantation with a small fraction of that time frame with what is close to a 100% success rate (nothing in life is 100% certain except death and taxes..!).

On September 17, 2012, the news around the world was that 2 Japanese professors from Kinki University and Osaka University announced that they have developed a new ‘tooth patch” or tooth shell. These tooth patches are made of hydroxyapatite (HA) which is known to be super hard. It is the essential element of our bone and teeth structures. After all, that is how we are supported by our bones.

The Japanese professors said they managed to make them as thin as 0.004mm and stay flexible!! It is mind-boggling to comprehend how a super hard material could be made flexible and thin. This means that those teeth shells could be made to snap on and off our teeth, sort of like our shoes. Imagine we can snap the shell on and off as we wish and our own teeth may never wear out.

Getting a new shell on our teeth to repair damaged teeth is nothing new, we have been able to do that for a many decades now, those are commonly known as dental crowns or caps. However, with these new high-tech ‘tooth patches’, our own teeth would not be worn out or decay with time when we can get a man made shell to protect them. Just like we wear shoes to protect our feet while walking rather than having aching feet after a long day!

What is next? The safety of this material has to be established then we need to establish the effectiveness of the material. This may take years (decades) to accomplish. For the time being, keep your teeth healthy because we can never predict when or whether this magical teeth shells will ever hit the market.

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients. For more information about Dr. Cheng, click here

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

I have just returned from a short trip to London, England.

As usual, my trips overseas are 99.8% work related. I reached London early in the morning just before sunrise and I was giving a two-hour lecture at sunset to a collection of post-graduate students at the world famous Eastman Dental Institute, University College London. It was a very interactive lecture indeed. I could not have asked for a better audience and it was also refreshing to encounter excellent questions from many bright minds like them.

Remember I said that my trips were usually 99.8% work? This time, the 0.1% of my journey in London was to watch Les Misérables, which by far is the best musical ever in my humble opinion. Then what about the other 0.1% of my journey there? I played tourist. In fact, I never get excited sightseeing, never! After all, I have little idea about the differences between this artifact and that artifact…

However, during a bus tour around London, I came across Grosvenor Estate. London has been long established as a financial center. For hundred of years, it was even considered as the center of the world while the British Empire had its presence all over the globe. After all, I grew up in Hong Kong, went to school in the US, worked in Canada, married a Malaysian wife and live in Singapore now. All these places were once upon a time British colonies. Grosvenor is a long established family in London and they have been rubbing shoulders with, working for and literally fighting battles alongside many Kings and Queens.

By now, they have substantial real estate properties in London. They also have tons of other interests in many other countries on this planet. The Grosvenor family is rich beyond most people’s wildest imagination.

There is a Chinese saying that: ‘Wealth could hardly last three generations’ (富不过三代)

My uncle always regarded HSBC as the best bank in the world. It is very clear that the Grosvenor wealth passed through quite a bit more than three generations. Then I came across the Grosvenor family crest on HSBC and it shed some light regarding the Grosvenor family. Their family motto is ‘Virtus non Stemma’, which means ‘virtue, not pedigree’. In other words, as a family, meritocracy is the principle, no one shall count on their ancestry and one shall work on his/her worth instead.

We are lucky to be born in an era where opportunities are abundant, a time when access to education is relatively easy, and many societies work fantastically well because our individual personal worth matters more than where we are from. We are indeed lucky.

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients. For more information about Dr. Cheng, click here

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

The 30^th Summer Olympic Games which was held in London, England, is finally over. Many people are happy because now they don’t need to wake up in the middle of the night to watch the games. This Olympic Games is special in a sense that this is the third time that London managed to host the Games –  the other times were in 1908 and 1948.

The Olympics motto was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894: “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, which in Latin is Citius, Altius, Fortius. Mr. De Coubertin borrowed it from his athletics enthusiast friend, Priest Henri Didon.

As time passed, the nature of the Games deviated a little from the motto. For example, archery is not exactly in line with the motto even though winning any medals in the Games is proof of dedication, personal sacrifice and excellence on the part of the athlete(s). On the other hand, this “Faster, Higher, Stronger” motto is totally in line with all the track and field events. Although track and field events traditionally start off during the second week of the Olympic Games, many people regard these as the ‘Real Opening’ of the games. The Games also end with an athletic event, the men’s marathon.

 It is no secret that some countries do better in the marathon events. Some credit it to their genes, some say it is their culture, food, climate, or simply a result of the transportation system in the country. However, the common factor among all successful distance runners is mileage. This year, Mo Farah (Mohammed Farah) from Great Britain managed to win double Gold medals in 5000m and 10000m events. He said that he was running about 190km+ a week.

In the history of the Olympics, there are only a few people who have managed to win double gold medals like that. The most well known is the legendary “Czech Locomotive,” Emil Zatopek, who topped that feat with a marathon gold all in the same 1952 Summer Olympics. Now the real test is to see if Mo Farah can show off his marathon ability in the next Olympic games.

It is known that among elite marathon runners, their weekly volume of training can easily reach 300km. Some Japanese world-class runners sometime do over 100km in a day so that they ‘get used to’ the distance and as a result a 42.195km marathon may feel like a ‘sprint’. It is all about the preparation. Well, for mere mortals, we may not be able to run like these professionals. However, surprisingly, it is amazingly like running one’s life!

My grandmother used to say: “In order to reach high, be prepared. In order to reach higher, be super prepared!.” She went on to say, “Don’t rush. Take a baby step at a time. It is not about the prize (money or trophies of any kind), it is about taking part and having a good reputation (staying healthy).”

Many people also heard of a more informal Olympic motto, also introduced by De Coubertin, which is: “The most important thing is not to win but to take part!” He came up with this motto from a sermon by the Bishop of Pennsylvania during the 1908 Olympic Games in London.  This is actually very similar in the sport of healthcare too…

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore. He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of medically compromised patients, including cancer patients. For more information about Dr. Cheng, click here

Specialist Dental Group has launched an on-going series of blog posts by our individual dental specialists. All views provided are the dentist’s own opinions and are posted on this blog as part of our on-going efforts to educate the public about dental issues and other matters of interest relating to dentistry and healthcare.

I am a major fan of the Olympic Games and these past days, the television in my home has been constantly on to catch the latest updates on the Summer Olympics.

The Olympic Games is no small matter. Thousands and thousands of people have made a lot of sacrifices in their lives in order to earn the right to participate in the Olympics. Even though it is known as the ‘games’, it is no playing matter. I am sure every athlete has gone all out in their efforts to excel in their chosen sporting event(s). All were trained to win and learned to lose – after all, there are only a few medals for each event.

Let’s look at some statistics:

•  It takes approximately 40,000 steps for an elite runner to finish running a marathon of 42.195km
•  Swimmers routinely swim close to 10km daily so that they can swim flat out at the last 25 meter of a 200m event
•  In order to complete these punishing workouts, these elite athletes individually generate an amount of carbon dioxide that is almost equivalent to a small passenger car on a daily basis
•  Close to 20,000 athletes are supposed to check into the Olympic Village during the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, which means that there are almost 600,000 teeth among the athletes in London this month. Conservatively speaking, some of them are likely to need dental treatment especially when we know that younger individuals have a higher chance of getting dental problems such as wisdom teeth infection.

 There are a few groups of medicines, even though they are perfectly safe under proper clinical diagnosis and prescription, which are closely watched in the anti-doping drug control programs:

• stimulants (the reason is obvious, right?),
• steroids (‘roids’ helps muscle growth and recovery),
• painkillers (which allow the athletes to withstand more pain),
• growth hormones (similar to steroids),
• diuretics (helps to flush out other questionable drugs and lose weight)

The issue is that some of the medicines above are routinely used in treating infections. It will be challenging for the clinician if an elite athlete happened to develop an acute dental infection (e.g. wisdom teeth) during the Olympic Games.

An anti-doping program is not to ensure fair play during the Games only, it is a year- round program for the established athletes. A few days ago, we have seen a 16 year-old Chinese athlete, Miss Ye Shi-Wen 「葉詩文」break the 400m Individual Swimming Medley record by a good margin. Some people expressed concern that her prowess could be attributed to doping. Well, the story was that she went through a dental extraction not too long ago WITHOUT dental anesthesia to avoid violating anti-doping protocols and risking her chances in the Games!!

Now, this incident speaks a lot of the dedication of this young lady. However, her coach should have just got a dentist who had a good idea of what was ‘safe’ to prescribe in her case. She could have won her gold medals with one less painful experience.

Dr. Ansgar C. Cheng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (Teeth Replacement) with Specialist Dental Group™. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore.  He has a special interest in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and treatment of  medically compromised patients, including cancer patients. For more information about Dr. Cheng, click here