About the Project
Our country has one of the world's highest standards
of healthcare, yet there are some Singaporeans who do
not have access to proper, regular dental care. Examples
are the people in our welfare homes, the physically
or mentally disabled, the elderly, abandoned children,
etc.
The BDS project was set up to resolve this problem.
One of the aims of the Singapore Dental Health Foundation
is to promote dental health in Singapore. So it is appropriate
that the SDHF takes the lead to initiate a project to
address this problem. We are a non-profit organization,
made up entirely of volunteers. We want to emphasize
that the responsibility of promoting dental health does
not lie with dentists alone. We want to get dentists, dental nurses, dental technicians,
suppliers and others involved.
Our objective is to promote volunteerism among dentists
and dental auxiliaries so that we can provide adequate dental
care to welfare homes in Singapore.
Our Mission
To co-ordinate dental volunteer activity so as to maximize
the use of our limited resources.
To be a Resource Centre for dental professionals who are
involved in community service
To raise the level of volunteerism among the dental community.
To ensure that everyone in Singapore has regular access
to proper dental care, with special focus on those in welfare
homes.
About our Name
Everyone involved in dentistry immediately recognizes this
acronym as it stands for our University degree (Bachelor of
Dental Surgery). We hope that in the future, BDS also stands
for the contribution of dentists to the community.
Bringing
This gives the impression of volunteers actively bringing
our skills to the less fortunate
Dentalcare
Dentistry is also about caring for the whole person.
We realize that these people have many other problems
and they are very often much more serious. But we have
to do what we can to help, however little it may be.
Singaporeans
We start at home because there are still pockets of
our population that are not adequately cared for. We do
realize that there are needs in our neighbouring countries
and we are very encouraged by the efforts of some of our
colleagues who venture abroad to provide dental care.
About our tagline: Every
Singaporean Deserves a Healthy Smile
Every Singaporean
this incorporates a part of the Singapore 21 Vision's"Every
Singaporean Matters".
Deserves
emphasizes that dental care is a necessity, as much
as good health and a roof over our heads.
Healthy
indicates that we contribute towards the overall well
being of a person.
Smile
gives a clue to the area of our work. A smile also indicates
happiness.
