SAF HOSTS WORLD MILITARY DENTAL CONFERENCE

A painful dental condition can be as debilitating to a soldier as a combat wound. The treatment of dental conditions therefore, directly affects the combat readiness and morale of troops in the armed forces.

To exchange the latest ideas on military dentistry, about 100 military delegates from 18 countries are participating in a two-day World Military Dental Congress 2009 on 31 Aug and 1 Sep at the Suntec City Convention Centre.

Themed Dental Healthcare for the Next Generation Armed Forces, Guest-of-Honour Brigadier-General (BG)(Dr) Benjamin Seet, Chief of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Medical Corps, said that armed forces and their healthcare services are transforming to meet a wider spectrum of geopolitical and military challenges.

He also said in his welcome address that the congress will provide a "good forum" to learn the best practices of the dental community, as well as "provide opportunities to discuss the latest issues facing military dentistry".

Hosted by the SAF, the conference included presentations on topics such as global dental healthcare support, identifying disaster victims and the treatment of battle injuries to the mouth and jaws.

Speaking to cyberpioneer on some of the challenges faced by military dentists today, Colonel (COL) (Dr) Tan Peng Hui, Commander SAF Military Medicine Institute and chairman of the local organising committee for the conference, said: "One challenge is encouraging servicemen to practice adequate oral hygiene, especially when they are out in the field."

"We also need to ensure that our personnel are dentally-fit for deployments to operational areas," added COL (Dr) Wan Azmil Wan Mohamed Annuar, a principle dental officer and a dental restorative specialist from the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Besides the topical presentation, the conference provides participants with the opportunity to engage in informal discussions on best practices in their respective countries.

"As a lot of the speakers are from advanced armies, they bring a wealth of experience in the field and in operations, and these are the areas in which we can learn a great deal," said COL (Dr) Tan.

COL Janet Scott, Chairman of consultative group in Dentistry, under Joint Health Command Australia, added: "Through my interaction with colleagues here, I've managed to establish contacts for the future."

"I have had the honour to work with the SAF medical team in East Timor in 2001, and saw that they were very efficient, friendly and knowledgeable."

"Through the videos shown, I was impressed with how the SAF Medical Corps operates, and I look forward to future collaborations with Singapore. I think we can learn a lot from Singapore, even though it's a small country," she said.

The conference was held in Sweden last year.