​CEO Succession at National Dental Centre Singapore

6 July 2023 - The following key leadership transition will take effect from 1 August 2023:

Clinical Associate Professor Poon Choy Yoke, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS), will relinquish her appointment on 1 August 2023. Clinical Associate Professor Goh Bee Tin, currently NDCS’ Deputy CEO, Research & Education and Head, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), will succeed Clin Assoc Prof Poon as CEO, NDCS.

In her nine-year tenure, Clin Assoc Prof Poon led NDCS in expanding its capability to deliver comprehensive, seamless and patient-centred dental care, and forged wide-ranging partnerships in research and education to advance oral healthcare. Under her leadership, NDCS set up Singapore’s first Geriatric and Special Care Dentistry Clinic in 2016 and was among the first in the world to implement value-based healthcare in dentistry by implementing six Value-Driven Care pathways for wisdom tooth surgery, root canal treatment, dentures, orthodontics, implants and periodontal treatment. CIin Assoc Prof Poon also oversaw the setting up of the National Dental Research Institute Singapore (NDRIS), the first national-level institution in Asia-Pacific dedicated to oral health research, and the formulation of a comprehensive education framework to develop tomorrow’s oral healthcare professionals.

A strong advocate for regional health and community care, Clin Assoc Prof Poon has been instrumental in directing early population oral health efforts through intervention initiatives in the community. These include Project Silver Screen, a screening programme for seniors aged 60 years and older, Tele-Dentistry for Oral Care of Seniors programme, to improve access to care for elderly residents in nursing homes and the Oral Health Movement 8020, to improve public awareness on oral frailty of older adults. At the national level, Clin Assoc Prof Poon has also made impactful contributions in raising the standards of public oral healthcare. She played a crucial role in driving the Ministry of Health (MOH) National Adult Oral Health Survey 2019/202 to assess the population’s oral health status and needs, dental service utilisation and barriers to care.

Upon relinquishing her appointment, Clin Assoc Prof Poon will be appointed as a Senior Advisor, SingHealth, to the SingHealth Board of Advisors.

Taking over from Clin Assoc Prof Poon is Clin Assoc Prof Goh Bee Tin who has contributed extensively to oral health research, professional development and public health administration. She has played a lead role in enabling NDCS to forge strategic partnerships with key collaborators such as Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, Japan’s Tohoku University, as well as Nanyang Technological University and A*STAR, resulting in exponential growth in oral health research outcomes. For example, under Clin Assoc Prof Goh's leadership, NDCS’ clinical team became the first team of dentists in Singapore to be awarded the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Talent Development Award in 2015, and subsequently in 2016, 2021 and 2023. A passionate researcher, Clin Assoc Prof Goh is the founding Director of NDRIS. She is also a strong advocate for training and education and is deeply involved in the clinical teaching of OMS residents and supervises Master’s and PhD students from Singapore and several renowned universities abroad.

In her new role as CEO, NDCS, CIin Assoc Prof Goh will build on the strong foundations laid by Clin Assoc Prof Poon to propel NDCS towards greater heights of clinical and academic excellence.