News Asia Pacific

Interview: Dentists devoted their utmost efforts to identifying victims of the great disaster

The magnitude of the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 affected millions worldwide. Upon the two-year commemoration of the natural disaster in March, Dental Tribune ONLINE had the opportunity to speak with Dr Mitsuo Okubo, the President of the Japan Dental Association (JDA), about the role of the dental profession and the state of the dental industry in Japan since the catastrophe.

National University of Singapore to expand dental faculty and services

SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Dentistry is on the brink of a major expansion, Dental Tribune Asia Pacific has learned. Officials recently unveiled plans to transform the current facilities into an oral health-care centre, which will include the construction of a new, state-of-the-art building and extend the university’s clinical offering. In addition, it will facilitate research on regenerative biology and tissue engineering, among other fields.

Tokyo prepares for World Endo Congress

TOKYO, Japan: Retreatment and concepts on the regeneration of dental pulp will be evaluated when the ninth scientific congress of the International Federation of Endodontic Associations (IFEA) opens its doors to dentists and clinical specialists in Tokyo next month. According to the Japan Endodontic Association, one of the organisers, a record number of pre-registrations have been received for the triennial show, which will take place at the Tokyo International Forum in four weeks.

Clinicians use YouTube to explore origins of dental fear

HONG KONG/PERTH, Australia/SHAH ALAM, Malaysia: With 800 million users per month currently, YouTube has become one of the most frequented websites on the Internet. Owing to its popularity, the video-sharing platform is increasingly used by scientists to research social patterns and behaviour. The latest study, conducted by paediatricians and public health experts across the Asia Pacific region, sought to investigate dental anxiety triggers in children and adolescents.

Low tax compliance among Filipino dentists

QUEZON CITY, the Philippines: Along with other self-employed professionals, dentists in the Philippines do not seem to like paying taxes, figures from the country’s Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) suggest. The Department of Finance and Bureau of Internal Revenue reached out to several professional organisations, including the Philippine Dental Association, last week to urge their members to make their tax submissions before the 2012 tax return deadline today.

NZ dentist pair involved in major fraud

AUCKLAND, New Zealand: City police in New Zealand’s largest city have exposed a major welfare scam involving a bogus dental clinic. Two suspects running the facility in the Papatoetoe suburb were arrested yesterday for having claimed benefits for emergency treatment that was never administered from the Ministry of Social Development.