By Michael Riches
Issue 84 - July 2009

For those who pine for the romantic days before modern technology complicated our lives, back when we lived with the elegance and simplicity of the lords and ladies of a Merchant Ivory film, the humorist P.J. O’Rourke once had this response: “I give you one word – dentistry.”

That quip was from the 1980s, a dark age for dentistry even compared with today.

I recently had my first dental appointment since moving from Canada two years ago. I had the same hesitation that any expat feels when checking into any kind of foreign medical clinic: will the practitioners be as well trained as they are back home? Will they have all the same advanced equipment?

I wound up feeling guilty for having had such thoughts. The technology at GPA Dentalcare made me question whether it was my country that’s behind the times. (You Americans can stop laughing; Canada is a developed, modern country!)

Dr Wilson Goh explains that he has always made a point of acquiring the latest in dental advancements for the five clinics and 15 dentists in his Team GPA, regardless of what part of the world it’s from – just as long as the technology has been proven safe and effective in practice.

The Galileos 3D imaging – called “thermography” – and other imaging devices are impressive. These allowed the dentist to guide me through the places where decay and cracks were starting. Previously, I’d just take my dentist’s word for it. Here, I could see it for myself on a monitor by the exam chair. Remember the beginning of Titanic where they toured the doomed ship with a snazzy computer simulation and showed exactly how the ship sank? I got one of those for my mouth. Except the news wasn’t so dire.

For the first time, a dental practitioner was able to tell me decisively that my wisdom teeth do not have to get the heave-ho. The 3D image, unlike film x-rays, showed precisely how far my roots were from any nerves – meaning I was wise to ignore past advice to have them pulled “just in case”.

But if I did require major dental work of any sort, this is where I’d feel comfortable. GPA is the first clinic in Singapore to use Waterlase MD, a laser device that can be a handy replacement for the drill, scalpel and anaesthetic needle. It even kills bacteria along incision lines and stops bleeding instantaneously, which allows patients to be back on solid food within a couple of hours after a major procedure. It gives the dentist more control, and the patient a gentler experience.

Another technology on-hand – called CEREC CAD-CAM, if you must know – is directly linked to the in-house laboratory, where a robotic device sculpts crowns and inlays from ceramic blocks while you wait. Gone is the need for multiple appointments and temporary fillings and crowns.

I ask Dr Goh if the days of drills are over. “Almost,” he says. “We can use the laser for filling simple cavities. This is especially great for children, as they won’t feel any vibration from a drill, and won’t have any sensation of their teeth being worked on. As for root canals and wisdom teeth, we still need nickel-titanium instruments, but the laser is an adjunct that makes the procedure easier and safer.”

The drill, Dr Goh says, might be completely gone “in another year or so.”

GPA Dentalcare has five branches, including its headquarters and laboratory in Bugis at 600 Northbridge Road, Parkview Square #14-04.Call (+65) 6732 1020 or visit www.gpadental.com.