Dental News - Survey indicates great concern over high dental care costs in Singapore

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 20. September 2019

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SINGAPORE: A recent survey commissioned by a standing committee appointed by the Singapore Dental Association (SDA) has inquired into the public’s confidence in dentists and assessed the overall level of concern about dental care costs in Singapore. The data revealed that the majority of the study participants struggle to meet rising dental care costs in the country.

The survey interviewed a total of 1,438 members of the public aged between 25 and 60 years. All the respondents were Singaporeans, except for 26 permanent residents. More than two-thirds of the respondents (71%) visited private dental practitioners and 29% visited public healthcare institutions.

The findings indicated that a staggering 89% of the study participants were unhappy about current dental care costs, and a third of the participants said that they would seek treatment overseas or turn to public healthcare institutions in the event of a further dental care cost increase. Nearly a fifth of the respondents stated that they had not visited a dentist in the last three years. However, those who had visited a dentist at least once in the last year were happy about the service they had received and had not filed any complaints against their dentist.

“The public survey gave us an opportunity to get a glimpse into the thoughts of Singaporeans and permanent residents. We are glad to find out that, despite the media reports on dentists recently, the survey reveals a very high confidence level in our dentists with regard to safety and competency in the delivery of dental care,” said chairman of the standing committee Dr Tang Kok Weng. “We share the public concern about the rising dental treatment fees. We hope that there are no external factors in the near future that may potentially increase the cost of delivery of dental care in Singapore,” he concluded.

Besides the rising dental care costs, 76% of the respondents were concerned about the rising cost of living in Singapore.

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