Assessment of Wisdom Tooth Surgery Accreditation Standards and Progression Pathways for General Dentists

13 Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether the new certificate of competency framework for wisdom tooth surgery recognises the experience of general dentists who have safely performed such procedures for years; (b) whether the requirement to log 30 cases within three years risks incentivising unnecessary surgery; and (c) what progression pathways exist for accredited general dentists to take on more complex cases.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: The Certificate of Competency (COC) framework announced recently by the Singapore Dental Council aims to progressively raise the proficiency standards of wisdom tooth surgery at the primary care level. We recognise that general dentists, especially the less experienced ones, will benefit from further training beyond what they had received during their undergraduate education before they perform higher-risk wisdom tooth surgery. This will ultimately enhance safety and benefit patients.

At this stage, we are starting with a voluntary framework and inviting experienced general dentists to help us confirm and define the competency standards. They will also service as supervisors to junior dentists. We have, for now, defined sustained competency as having successfully completed 30 wisdom tooth surgeries over the initial three-year accreditation period. This is a patient volume which, based on the Ministry of Health's record, most general dentists can comfortably fulfil without leading to unnecessary treatments. It is to be validated and confirmed within this phase of voluntary implementation.

After the standards are defined and confirmed, our intention is to recognise the experience of general dentists who have a sufficiently long history of practice in wisdom tooth surgery, and especially those who have helped us validate and define the COC.