EDMUND TAY MAI HIONG ENDOWED FUND

(officially launched on 16 August 2015)

LETTER FROM DR. DAVID K. L. TAY

Dear Alumni and Friends,

People used to think that snoring was a ‘benign’ if not laughable social affliction affecting most men. How wrong we were!

My dad’s early medical problems and ultimate demise were directly related to a not uncommon malady called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). In the early eighties, this disorder was not well recognized and the seriousness of its cardiac and cerebrovascular consequences was often overlooked.

Today, the realization that we as dentists are in a uniquely privileged position to play a significant role in the early recognition and co-management of this potentially devastating medical condition is simultaneously humbling and empowering.

We hope the Edmund Tay Mai Hiong Endowed Fund, will serve as a platform:

• to introduce sleep medicine to the local dental profession
• to raise public and medical community awareness of dentistry’s role in sleep-related breathing disorders
• to make dentists more aware of the potential impact of everyday dental practice, both the positive and negative, on the human airway, as well as
• to highlight the comorbidity and interrelationship between disrupted sleep and chronic orofacial pain (including Temporomandibular Disorders).

As founding Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry and former Professor of Prosthetic Dentistry, he helped shape the study and teaching of dentistry during the school's formative years. His entire career was spent in academia and he was the longest serving dean in the history of our University. His professed aim was the "development of biologically oriented, technically capable and socially sensitive dental surgeons who are fully aware of their contribution to the TOTAL care of their patients". I think we’ve been ‘punching below our weight’ for too long. Dentistry should not only be about making teeth straight and white. Dentists need to look beyond the molars!

It is my hope that the creation of this endowment in his honor will recognize his contributions, further his aspirations for our profession and ensure that his legacy endures.  On behalf of my family, I appeal to your generosity and thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Dr David K. L. Tay