Why a cooperative for dental services? Shirley Tan-Oehler chews on it.

Technically, Comfort was NTUC's second cooperative, established in October 1970 to help more taxi drivers own their taxis. Around that time, there were about 14,000 licensed taxi drivers but only 3,800 vehicles. As there as a steep demand for more readily available public transport, taxi drivers who were not allocated vehicles operated pirate taxis, charging more than buses but less than licensed taxis.

It is believed that as many as 8,000 pirate taxi drivers were plying the roads before the NTUC Workers' Cooperative Commonwealth for Transport Limited (Comfort) was established.

However, Comfort became a public listed company in 1994. Now, NTUC owns less than 2% of the shares. At the beginning of 2003, Business Times named Comfort Group Limited as a top stock to follow this year As Comfort is no longer an NTUC cooperative, this month's story focuses on NTUC Co-operative Dental Care Society Limited, or Denticare, as it is more commonly known.

Before Denticare, the term, "oral care", was sorely lacking the vocabulary of workers, who would rather suffer the pain of cavities than the sting in the pocket following a visit to the dentist.

Denticare was mooted by the NTUC Social and Programmes Welfare Committee, with the clear objective of providing quality dental services to working people at affordable rates. After a period of fund-raising, mainly through a donation draw, the first Denticare clinic opened in Corporation Drive in May 1972 for the convenience of workers in Jurong. By the end of the year, a second Denticare clinic opened at Trade Union House in Shenton Way for those working in the city. With lower costs, unions that previously had difficulties persuading companies to include dental care in Collective Agreements now had no problem having this benefit incorporated. But, the cooperative was not without teething problems.

Staunching the early bleeding

Only six unions took advantage of Denticare's services. In 1973, its third year of operations, the cooperative suffered a loss of nearly $40,000. The bleeding had to stop and at the end of 1974, the Corporation Drive clinic was closed.

In 1980, the only surviving Denticare clinic at Trade Union House moved across the road to an upgraded clinic at the Trade Union House Annexe. By then, workers were becoming more conscious of the need for oral care and Denticare's services were in greater demand. In 1986, 83 of the 186 Cas signed provided for dental treatment and union members could use the Denticare clinic or any other dental clinic. In 1988, Denticare promoted dental health education besides providing dental treatment. This led to fewer workers staying away from work because of dental problems.

In 1991, the Denticare clinic moved to Shenton House and for the first time, specialist treatment was offered. However, Denticare continued to charge lower prices. Compare:

• A dental surgeon in private practice charged between $4,000 and $6,000 to straighten crooked teeth (orthodontics treatment). A similarly skilled dental surgeon registered with NTUC Co-operative Dental Care Society Limited charged between $3,200 and $4,000 - some 20% to 30% less.
• A private clinic charged between $400 and $800 for the extraction of a wisdom tooth, while a Denticare clinic charged between $200 and $400 - about half the price.

Bridge work

Denticare's next procedure was expansion. More capital was needed to bridge the setting up of a few clinics in various parts of Singapore. As it was a small cooperative with a small share capital base, NTUC decided it should work with its newly formed NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Limited. NTUC Healthcare, set up primarily in response to high cost healthcare products, injected the much-needed capital. Both cooperatives could, when the time is right, consider opening one-stop medical and dental centres for the convenience of workers.

Denticare eventually set up clinics at Midpoint, Bugis Village, Bukit Merah, Parkway Parade, Choa Chu Kang and Jurong Point, then relocated two clinics - Midpoint to Midpoint Orchard and Bugis Village to Albert Complex - to better serves it clientele.

Currently, there are eight Denticare clinics, at Shenton House, Midpoint Orchard, Bukit Merah Central, Parkway Parade, Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall in Choa Chu Kang, Jurong Point Shopping Centre, Rivervale Mall in Sengkang and Bishan, and one associate clinic, NHG Denticare with Alexandra Hospital.

Since 1997, Denticare started its purchase of clinic premises to reduce operating expenses and shield itself from rental fluctuations. It now owns the clinics at Parkway Parade, Midpoint Orchard and Bukit Merah Central.

As of 1999, Denticare enjoyed 15% of the market share and is strengthening its presence yearly. It has grown bigger than any private dental clinic chain.

Every NTUC cooperative exists for a specific role. Denticare was started because oral care was expensive and a majority of workers could not afford even a filling, let alone crowning or dentures. Today, Denticare continues to base its charges on the median of HDB practices, which are lower than the fees of clinics in the city area and well below those recommended by the Singapore Dental Association. As an added benefit, union members pay 10% to 30% below this median pricing, which is also offered to Income insurance policy holders, senior citizens and residents of homes affiliated to the National Council of Social Services. Patients with financial hardships get free treatment.

The existence of Denticare has put a healthy smile on many workers, both unionised and non-unionised.

Source: Stretching The Dollar by Ee Boon Lee