SINGAPORE - A new dental centre will open in 2019 at Kent Ridge that will be capable of treating 500 patients a day, up from the current 350.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, chairman of the National University Health System and president of the National University of Singapore, said the new centre is designed to "cater to as yet unmet needs", such as for elderly patients, those with mobility problems or with special needs.

He added: "It will clearly cater to the growing demands in specialty areas such as the oral healthcare of patients with complex medical conditions, or the elderly who may have multiple chronic illnesses."

About three-quarters of the new National University Centre for Oral Health building will belong to the Dental Faculty - Singapore's only school for dentists.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony on Monday (Sept 21), Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that with the expanded facilities, the school will be able to take in more students - from 54 a year now to 80 a year by 2021.

Its dean, Associate Professor Grace Ong, said the faculty will ramp up the teaching of gerodontolgy to prepare its students to care for Singapore's ageing population.

The new building will also house the clinical training facilities for Nanyang Polytechnic students studying for a diploma in oral health.

Prof Ong said: "This will provide excellent opportunities for dental undergraduates and trainee oral health therapists to engage in collaborative learning and prepare them to work effectively as an oral healthcare team when they graduate."