SINGAPORE - Ms Jo Lim was looking for a solution to a root canal issue that had been bothering her. She had sought out diagnoses and treatment plans from dental clinics in Singapore, but an appointment would either take a long time to schedule or cost a hefty sum.

After doing her due diligence as a consumer, the Singaporean financial representative eventually settled on Dr Shim Chung Nam at The Smile Dental Lounge.

The difference? Dr Shim’s clinic is located in Mount Austin, across the Causeway in Johor Bahru (JB).

“He’s very gentle, detailed and explained a lot to me. My experience was calm and painless, it helped me build trust in his treatment,” said Ms Lim, who “sampled” his skills through a scaling session in October 2023.

Her experience convinced her to arrange a next appointment with Dr Shim for a more complex root canal procedure a week later.

Dental clinics in JB have increasingly become a viable option for Ms Lim and others from Singapore.

There are more than 20 dental clinics operating within a 6km distance of the checkpoint available to would-be patients from the Republic, with dozens more when venturing further out of JB’s city centre.

These Singapore-based patients say they are primarily drawn by an array of restorative and cosmetic teeth treatments offered at a fraction of what they would cost in Singapore and little to no compromise on the quality of care.

For instance, while a course of treatment for in-clinic teeth whitening in Singapore may start from $900, similarly US-imported products available at private clinics in JB would cost only around RM1,300 (S$370).

Dr Jolene Lai, principal dentist at Pink and White Dental in Jalan Tebrau, told The Straits Times: “Teeth whitening is a very popular procedure. We used to have only one whitening light, but because of the demand, we got another one, and we usually get booked out for groups of friends or family who want to get their whitening treatment done at the same time.” 

She added that her clinic also gets many inquiries for clear aligners and wisdom teeth procedures.

Supply chain manager Feldman Kuah said that for the same amount in Singapore, getting his dental care sorted in JB would give him more bang for his buck, a consideration made more pertinent as he works with a claimable corporate dental allowance amounting to around $400 a year.

He added that costs are maximised when his family of four goes for dental treatment together in JB, usually for bi-annual cleaning services.

“A regular scaling could easily cost more than $100 for one person in Singapore. In JB, that could be just RM200 plus,” said Mr Kuah, who has been going to E&E Dental in Taman Abad, less than 3km away from the Singapore checkpoint.

The allure of the city’s other offerings are also such that Singaporeans like Mr Kuah can plan a day trip to JB prioritising a dental visit, which sets them up for shopping and feasting pursuits the rest of the day.

“You just need to do it twice a year, it’s quite easy to plan,” he said, adding that he draws the line at an emergency such as a toothache that would require more immediate attention in Singapore.

No compromise on quality

Selecting a dentist she could trust was important to Ms Lim, since her unpleasant school dental encounters imprinted on her a “trauma and phobia of visiting dentists”.

Dr Shim had arrived at the same diagnosis as the dentists she consulted in Singapore, but having been quoted around $5,000 by Singapore dentists, she spent only half that amount in JB for two root canals that also involved two dental crowns.

While Ms Lim acknowledged that “we save a lot due to the currency exchange”, she reiterated that “it’s the dentist’s quality, experience and skills” that matter most.

“If the dentist is not skilful, I would not have proceeded and would have come back to dentists in Singapore,” she said.

Dr Shim, who founded his clinic in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020, has noticed an increased patient flow in the past couple of months, with clients now needing to book appointments two weeks in advance for weekend slots.

Most of his patients from Singapore – a figure he estimates at 60 per cent of his total clientele – have been seeking him out since 2022.

Technology has helped him to cater for day-trippers to his clinic on tight schedules with equipment such as intra-oral scanners and 3D printers available to record patients’ teeth impressions and facilitate same-day retainers, he said, noting that his patients from Singapore are treated and charged the same as other patients.

Clinics in JB may also offer patients a change of pace relative to their experience with dentists in Singapore.

Dr Chris Tan, who runs Family Dental with his wife in Setia Tropika, said: “Some patients gave us feedback that it is very hard to get appointments in Singapore clinics, and their scaling sessions always finished within 15 minutes, while mine take longer and are more detailed.”

To Dr Lai, it is important her clients make an informed, educated decision on their course of treatment.

“Some people’s pain tolerance may be different to the next person’s,” said Dr Lai, who has been practising for 14 years. “A lot of people feel judged when they see a dentist. So when they come in, we make them feel like they can say they are scared of us, make a joke out of it, let them talk and share their concerns.”

She counts six to seven clients from Singapore out of every 10 she receives, but notes that not all may be “true-blue” Singaporean, given the diaspora of Malaysians working in the Republic. There are also Singapore-based expatriates who go to JB for dental care.

A favourite question of hers is “How did you find us?” and her clients have told her that Pink and White Dental is featured on some Facebook groups for expat wives in Singapore, apart from the Google reviews and many word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and past patients.

A personal touch helps. Dr Lai, for instance, sometimes gives a lift to some of her Singaporean patients to the checkpoint, which is about 5km away from her clinic.

And it is not always about the money. She also advises some of them to use their MediSave funds in Singapore where possible for procedures such as wisdom tooth surgery or implants, as prices may be about the same.

MC consideration

One consideration for Singaporean patients is the fact that certain dental treatments might require medical leave as they recover.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore employers have the discretion to grant sick leave for medical certificates (MCs) issued by overseas doctors.

Singapore Human Resources Institute’s executive director Alvin Aloysius Goh cautioned that local companies are not obligated to accept overseas dental MCs.

However, some companies do accept MCs for overseas dental emergencies or approve leave for medically required dental procedures, such as wisdom tooth extractions, he said.

Mr Joshua Yim, chief executive of recruitment firm Achieve Group, said recognition of overseas-issued MCs will still come down to each employer’s policies, with multinational firms accustomed to having employees deployed overseas being more likely to allow for overseas-issued MCs.

The importance of a Singapore-based clientele to dentists in JB was made the most apparent during the pandemic, when the borders were largely closed from March 18, 2020, to March 31, 2022, meaning a large proportion of their clients were stuck in Singapore and “everything halted”, Dr Lai said, as she did not receive an income for almost 18 months.

But after the borders reopened, travellers from Singapore have returned in record numbers especially before long holidays like the Good Friday weekend that saw around 510,000 clearing the land checkpoints to JB on March 28.

E&E Dental’s Dr Edmund Ooi has accepted the fact that the punctuality of around half his clientele is dependent on the Causeway’s traffic.

“We have to be ready for patients who may be late,” he said, adding that reminders and constant communication with his patients help manage expectations on arrival times, while also keeping their waiting times to a maximum of 30 minutes.

JB dentists described their Singaporean clients as being knowledgeable about their oral healthcare, which Dr Ooi said makes them easier to explain treatment plans to, especially when the recommended course of treatment is not the cheapest.

And while the experience of soldiering through the pandemic has made dentists in JB intimately aware of the need to build up a solid base of local patients too, they are more than happy to welcome patients from Singapore.

With greater mobility increasing the pool of options to consumers, competition may not be restricted to that within one’s country’s borders these days.

“We’re all colleagues; we go to the same conferences,” said Dr Lai of her Singaporean counterparts.

“There might be different reasons that drive the patients over, but when patients feel they can trust dentists here in JB as well as the ones they’re used to in Singapore, then ultimately it’s their choice.”