Display of Qualifications

Display of qualifications/titles on clinical stationery

The purpose of registration of displayable additional qualifications is to indicate to the public and to other practitioners that, in addition to a primary qualification, a dental surgeon has acquired knowledge, skills or experience which is available for the benefit of patients.

Dental Surgeons should be encouraged to upgrade their knowledge, skills and experience, whether as General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) or after attaining specialist status. The qualification or title must indicate that the dental surgeon has achieved a genuine advancement in expertise and experience and provided the dental surgeon with a quantum leap in knowledge and expertise. Acquired titles that are displayed should not be merely cosmetic.

As required under Section 31 of the Dental Registration Act, dental practitioners shall not use any qualification other than the qualifications which are entered in the Register of Dentists in respect of him, or which have been approved by the Council for his use.

Recognised Additional Qualifications (AQs)

Council has maintained a List of Displayable Additional Qualifications (AQs) with abbreviations [PDF, 386KB] recognised to date. This list will be updated on regular basis.

Criteria for recognition

The criteria for recognition and registration of displayable additional qualifications (AQs) can be found in the Revised Guidelines on the Display of Additional Qualifications or Titles [PDF, 223 KB].

The Credentials Committee makes recommendations on the criteria of AQs and applications to display qualifications that are not basic degrees.

Apply for registration of additional qualifications

A dental surgeon seeking to display a qualification or title should apply online to the Singapore Dental Council.

The online application will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Before you commence, please check if the qualification is listed on the List of Displayable Additional Qualifications (AQs) with abbreviations [PDF, 386KB] .

Required Documents

The online application must be supported by a copy of the scroll or certificate. If the scroll or certificate is in a language other than English, a copy of the English translation must be provided.

For all non-Singaporean qualifications, the applicant must also arrange for a Letter of Verification (LV) on the qualification to be sent to the SDC directly from the awarding institution. The LV must be sent from the conferring institution's official email domain to SDC at SDC_Registration@spb.gov.sg.

The LV must be on the letterhead of issuing authority /conferring institution and contain the following information:

• Name of graduate;
• Date of entry into programme (if applicable);
• Date of graduation/conferment;
• Title and abbreviation of qualification conferred

Applications with no LVs received by SDC will be deemed as incomplete and the processing of the application will be held in abeyance pending the receipt of the LV. The application may also be withdrawn by SDC if the LV is not received by a certain date as stipulated by SDC.

Please note that SDC shall not be responsible for any payments incurred by the applicant and/or interested parties arising from the request of the letters of verification.

In addition, if the qualification involves a specialty recognised by the Dental Specialists Accreditation Board (DSAB), the applicant shall complete an application form requesting for the DSAB to certify that the qualification fulfils the criteria for Basic Specialist Training (BST). This form will be sent to the applicant through email after the applicant has submitted the AQ application to SDC.

If the qualification is not on the list of displayable additional qualifications, SDC will request for further information stated below and relevant documents (i.e. course prospectus containing information on the pre-requisites, syllabus, method of assessment) via email correspondence.

(a) Whether the conferring body is recognized by the country's Dental Council, Accreditation Board or a relevant authority;

(b) The period of training required (If it is a clinical course, a minimum of at least 8 weeks full time (est. 320 hours) supervised clinical training in an approved institution is required);

(c) The pre-requisites for admission to the course (e.g. does the conferring body / academy require a certain number of years of practice before the candidate is eligible);

(d) Syllabus: subjects, length of study, abstract of thesis (if relevant);

(e) Method of assessment (e.g. whether the candidate had to sit for a postgraduate specialty exam) and the criteria on which it is awarded;

(f) Proof of recognition of qualification in country of awarding body and the name of the recognizing body;

(g) Whether the qualification can be displayed in the country of awarding body;

(h) Whether the qualification conferred is eligible for specialist accreditation in the country of awarding body;

(i) The suggested abbreviation for additional qualification, if relevant (to provide evidence of the most widely recognized abbreviation for the qualification in the country of awarding body).

Additional qualifications not accepted for display

For additional qualifications that are not related to patient-care, they will not be accepted as displayable qualifications and will not be allowed to be listed on their clinic stationery. Dentists, however, can include non-patient care qualifications or titles on their personal/ own business (not clinic) cards or stationery.

Processing time

Minimum processing time for AQ is four calendar weeks.

Minimum time taken for a decision on a new qualification is two calendar months from the time that all supporting documents including source verification confirmation, are received by SDC.

Fees Payable (Non-refundable)

The following fees are payable upon online application:

(i) Application fee of $50.00 per qualification.

Mode of Payment : e-payment (Visa / Mastercard / iBanking).