Relocating in middle of dental problem - who will help me?

[amariem]

I'm supposed to move to Singapore this weekend (for 4.5 months). I am having some dental problems though right now and my endodontist here in the US would like to take a "wait and see" approach to things whereas my dentist here in the US thought I should just extract my tooth now before I leave. The "wait and see" approach concerns me because if things get worse while I'm in Singapore, which they very likely could, then I will need my tooth extracted over there and will have to wait to get an implant until I get back in the US. Are there decent oral surgeons in Singapore who could extract my tooth? I really want someone who is highly trained and perhaps caters to expats more. After getting burned by my endodontist who caused all of these problems I am now pretty weary of any dental care and am concerned I will get another bad doctor or suffer more complications.

So what do you all think? Can I get decent care over there if things get really bad for me? I am going to be alone over there and am worried about the recovery and getting other complications or infections as a result of the extraction. I also have no idea how I would identify who the right oral surgeon is!

[JR8]

It's ok, there are world class dentists in SG. My own one qualified at Uni. of Bristol (a top rank place) in the UK and is great.

I expect this applies to many of them, just look at their www's and see their qualifications.

The plus side is that private work will cost a fraction of 'in the west', esp the US.

[excessuk]

Would you mind sharing the details of your dentist? I will need one myself eventually. Thanks!

[JR8]

Yah no problem XS, happy to.
She's also specifically side-trained for children.

No children myself yet. Just i don't like dentists lol. And she is very cool.

I'll PM you.

[amariem]

Can you PM me the info too? Thanks!

[taxico]

...I really want someone who is highly trained and perhaps caters to expats more. After getting burned by my endodontist who caused all of these problems I am now pretty weary of any dental care and am concerned I will get another bad doctor or suffer more complications.

So what do you all think? Can I get decent care over there if things get really bad for me? I am going to be alone over there and am worried about the recovery and getting other complications or infections as a result of the extraction. I also have no idea how I would identify who the right oral surgeon is!

search using this website:

http://www.sdc.gov.sg/sdc/PRSCPDS/sdc/s ... search.jsp

according to the register, there are only 59 qualified surgeons.

i recommend you go down the list and look for someone who has more than a basic BDS (ie DDS).

eg,

Name Dr Ow
Qualifications BDS 2001
Registered on 22/05/2002

vs

Name Dr Loh
Qualifications BDS 1980
MDS 1983
MSc 1984
FAM (Singapore) 1987
FDS RCS (Edinburgh) 1993
Registered on 05/04/1980

vs

Name Dr Lye
Qualifications BDS 1998
FRACDS 2002
PhD 2011
Registered on 26/06/1998

IMO, singapore dentists love pulling teeth. you WILL get decent care. there is no such thing as a perfect or right dentist or doctor.

[zzm9980]

Hi,

As an American, I would suggest pulling it in the US if your insurance there is going to cover it. Dentists are great here, but insurance works a lot differently (unless you're paying a lot extra for full over the top expat insurance which you likely won't be). For your own peace of mind just take care of it in the US if your current plan covers it IMO. The last thing you want to deal with is trying to decipher your new insurance plan to figure out what will or won't be covered, and how.

Insurance here is also good, but you may find dental surgery may not be fully covered or covered in the same way as you'd expect in the US. You may have to pay cash for your surgery (thousands) and get reimbursed in a couple months, or you may blow your outpatient quota for the year.