FROM CHARCOAL TO DENTURES

Demand for specialised dental care for seniors in Singapore on the rise as population ages

- Zhaki Abdullah

When Mr Ibrahim Mohamed, 94, visited a private dental clinic in 2020 to address discomfort resulting from dental problems such as loose teeth, the dentist refused to treat him because of his advanced age and underlying health issues that included heart conditions and hypertension.

The dentist instead recommended that he go to a public health institution, which would be better placed to address his health issues.

Mr Ibrahim visited the National University Centre for Oral Health Singapore (Nucohs), where he underwent extractions and received fillings as well as his first set of dentures.

More recently in 2024, when his upper dentures became ill-fitting and he lost his lower dentures, he went to the Nucohs Dental Clinic @ Alexandra Hospital, which is dedicated to seniors with more complex dental issues.

When Dr Tan Mei Na, head of dental services at Alexandra Hospital, treated Mr Ibrahim in 2024, she found that his oral health had deteriorated since his last visit in 2020, and he had multiple broken and decayed teeth.

When addressing his extensive dental issues, Dr Tan made sure to pace Mr Ibrahim's treatments across multiple visits, keeping each treatment simple to ensure he was comfortable.

His son, Mr Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim, said he appreciated the dentist's efforts to help his father feel more at ease.

His father, a retired gardener, had always relied on charcoal or other traditional methods to clean his teeth.

"I don't think he had ever been to a dentist all this while," added Mr Ismail, a 60-year-old freelance medical escort.

His father is one of a growing number of seniors seeking specialised dental care in recent years.