Tay Khoon Mei received her B.D.S. from the National University of Singapore in 1987. This was followed by one year at the Ministry of Health and another year at the NUH Dental Centre. Between 1990 and 1992, she completed a program in Behavioral Dental Fears Research, and a Masters in Education at the University of Washington, USA.

 

The Behavioral Dental Fears Research program conducted at the Dental Fears Research Clinic at the University of Washington focuses on the management of dental phobia patients, both adults and children. The strategies used include relaxation techniques, use of anti-anxiety medications, monitor heart rates, conduct anesthetic testing and also use of biofeedback to help patients monitor and hence control their fear level.

 

The Masters in Education degree was obtained in two majors: (1) Instructional Design and Communications; and (2) Policy, Governance and Administration. The former being more relevant to the practice of dentistry. The design of instruction to learn any skill, behavior or attitude takes into account how the brain processes different types of information.

 

Dr. Tay is a part-time faculty member at the Faculty of Dentistry at the National University of Singapore involved mainly in the General Practice Management course and also in teaching the Behavioral Dentistry program. Dr. Tay also teaches part time at the Dental Hygiene/Dental Therapist program at Nanyang Polytechnic.

 

Her special interests are in:

• Pedodontics

• Restorative Dentistry

• Periodontics

• Management of Dental Phobia