Q&M sets up dental clinic in Chai Chee to provide free treatment for the underprivileged

SINGAPORE - The Q&M Dental Group is providing basic dental care and treatment at no cost to the underprivileged at its new clinic.

Located at the void deck of Block 26 Chai Chee Road, it was officially launched by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin on Monday.

It is the first free dental clinic in Singapore set up by a private dental group. The $1 million clinic, a registered charity, will be staffed by about 60 volunteer dentists on a rotational basis and is expected to serve up to 1,400 patients a year.

“We aim to ramp up the current capacity to serve up to 5,000 patients a year in the free clinic’s next phase of operations to make dental care accessible to all,” group CEO Ng Chin Siau said.

The patients, referred by grassroots organisations within the Kembangan-Chai Chee division initially, will receive free dental consultations and treatments such as scaling and polishing, fillings and extractions.

The idea of a free dental clinic was mooted in August 2021 by Dr Ng and Mr Tan, who is also adviser to Marine Parade GRC Grassroots Organisations (Kembangan-Chai Chee).

“While we have made inroads with health screening, vaccinations and general health management, we realise that oral health has often been overlooked, especially for our underprivileged residents,” Mr Tan said.

Q&M Dental Group donated $500,000 in seed money and led fund-raising efforts to fully equip the clinic with two consultation rooms and state-of-the-art machines, including an X-ray room.

“Setting up the free clinic does not mean we cut corners. Instead, we want the best for all our patients to ensure they have a healthy set of teeth,” Dr Ng said.