Dr. David Tay Kheng Lip graduated from the University of Singapore in 1979 with a BDS and later pursued postgraduate training from 1981-1984 at Northwestern University, Chicago, where he received a Certificate in Prosthodontics and a Master of Science degree. He attained his specialist certification in Prosthodontics from the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, in 1988, and is currently registered as a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics (MOH).
He was a tenured full-time faculty member in National University of Singapore (NUS), from 1984 till 1993, where he was Senior Lecturer & Consultant in the Department of Restorative Dentistry, NUS/NUH. During his time at NUS, Dr Tay was involved in both the undergraduate and postgraduate prosthodontic teaching programmes and was instrumental in setting up the Dental School’s Integrated Core Curriculum in Occlusion and the Faculty’s Orofacial Pain Unit.
He founded Dr. David K. L. Tay & Associates in 1993 and continued to act as a Visiting Consultant in Orofacial Pain & Prosthodontics for the Singapore Armed Forces (until August 2007). Dr. Tay has long been a vocal advocate for the establishment of a Dental Specialist Register and was one of the first in Singapore to officially limit his dental practice to the specialty of prosthodontics.
His practice focuses on interdisciplinary occlusal rehabilitation, the management of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), headache & chronic orofacial pain, and the management of patients with sleep disorders, especially bruxism and sleep-related breathing disorders. He originated the N.U.S. Rehabilitation Philosophy, an intra-border condylar repositioning approach indicated for patients with compromised TM joints in cases when Phase II full-mouth prosthodontic reconstruction and/or orthodontics are deemed necessary.
Locally, he is known to his medical colleagues as one of the pioneers in Dental Sleep Medicine and Oral Appliance Therapy for Sleep-Disordered Breathing (SDB) which he manages in close collaboration with a team of sleep professionals. Dr. Tay has been an Academic Advisor to the International Sleep Academy since its inception. He started NUS Edmund Tay Mai Hiong Endowed fund in honour of his late father who was the founding Dean of the Dental School and a Professor of Prosthodontics. This university endowment and the annual ETMH Distinguished Speaker Programme serve to not only raise public and medical community awareness of dentistry’s role in sleep and airway issues but to empower and recruit dentists as front line professionals in the early detection of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Dr. Tay strongly believes that the informed dentist, working together with a team of dedicated sleep experts, has the potential to be a major factor in the co-management of many sleep-related disorders, not only Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
He has published in biomedical journals, served on their editorial boards, contributed to prosthodontic textbooks and given many presentations and courses on Occlusion, Prosthodontics, Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) and Sleep Dentistry both locally and overseas. He holds membership in several organizations including the International College of Prosthodontists, American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, American Equilibration Society, ASEAN Sleep Surgical Society and is a life member of the Pain Association of Singapore. He was the invited SDA Masterclass Speaker at the 2014 combined scientific meeting on Orofacial Pain, jointly organised by the Pain Association of Singapore and the Singapore Dental Association.
He has held leadership positions in numerous national and international professional organisations and was previously the President of the Prosthodontic Society of Singapore; Chairman of the Chapter of Dental Surgeons, AM (S’pore); Chairman, Specialist Certification Subcommittee on Dental Specialties and Convenor, Committee for Advanced Training in Prosthodontics, AM (S’pore). His continued participation in academia has been in the role of external examiner for PhD and MSc research projects conducted in the Department of Restorative Dentistry, National University of Singapore.
His role as Clinical Director of the T32 Dental Group’s Specialist Division, is but the logical extension of his personal commitment to the development of evidence-based dentistry in Singapore and the region.
Dr, Tay is a keen golfer and has made pilgrimages to courses like St. Andrew’s, Gleneagles, K Club, Valderrama and Pebble Beach. He plays off a single handicap and loves to go for constitutional walks with O.B., his faithful, slobbering chocolate Labrador Retriever.
Membership in Professional Bodies
- Member, International College of Prosthodontists
- Member, American Equilibration Society
- Member, Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (USA)
- Member, ASEAN Sleep Surgical Society
- Member, Singapore Sleep Society
- Member, Prosthodontic Society of Singapore
- Member, Singapore Dental Association
- Fellow, College of Dental Surgeons, Academy of Medicine, Singapore
- Life Member, Pain Association of Singapore
Past appointments
- Senior Lecturer, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, NUS
- Consultant, Department of Restorative Dentistry, National University Hospital
- Coordinator, Orofacial Pain Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, NUS
- Visiting Consultant in Prosthodontics & Orofacial Pain, Singapore Armed Forces
- Convenor, Committee for Advanced Specialty Training in Prosthodontics AM S’pore
- Member, Board of the Graduate School of Dental Studies, NUS
- Chairman, Chapter of Dental Surgeons, Academy of Medicine, Singapore
- President, Prosthodontic Society of Singapore
- General Secretary, Asian Academy of Craniomandibular Disorders
- Country Representative, American Equilibration Society
- Editorial Board, Asian Journal of Aesthetic Dentistry
- Editorial Board, Journal of Craniomandibular Disorders (USA)
- Guest Editor, Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore
- External examiner, MSc & PhD research projects, Department of Restorative Dentistry, NUS
- Chairperson, 8th NUS-SDA Distinguished Speaker Programme and Workshops on TMD/ Orofacial Pain
- Member, Dental Specialist Accreditation Board, Ministry of Health
