BROUGHT TO YOU BY NUS DENTAL SOCIETY
It is no doubt that AY21/22 was a challenging year, with the COVID-19 pandemic extending its effects into many aspects of our lives. Nevertheless, the 72nd Dental Society has been able to stay true to our mission despite the many uncertainties we faced. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the UESA team, as well as the faculty members for working tirelessly to ensure minimal disruption to our curriculum. Despite the many restrictions that were put in place, I am confident to say that all of us were still able to enjoy a vibrant and fun student life.
With this yearbook, we hope to showcase the resilience and ingenuity that have allowed us to strive together toward creating a more positive and encouraging environment for all, during this challenging period. This year, we focused on having a more visual narrative for our yearbook, recording our daily lives in Dental School through pictures that were submitted by students such as yourself. We hope that these pictures serve as evidence of the memories we have created together, no matter where life brings us in the years to come. As restrictions loosened towards the end of the AY, we were able to usher in events that saw more in-person gatherings. This included our annual Dinner and Dance, which had been put on a 2-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions More notably, we were also able to resume our efforts towards serving the community, such as our newly established collaboration with Lion’s Befrienders to raise oral health awareness in elderly rental flat neighbourhoods, as well as our participation in Public Health Service (PHS), a joint effort with NUS Medical Society These events are all recorded in this yearbook, in hopes that everyone can remember the fulfilling year that we had as a cohort.
My utmost gratitude goes to every single member who served on the committee of the 72nd Dental Society, for their time and service in creating a more conducive schooling environment for every student. Moreover, I would like to commend them for their contributions to the wider community, which is a testament to their kindness and generosity I am immensely proud and honored to have worked alongside such capable and amazing people. Towards greater service!
Wen Xianjue, President of Dental Society 2021/2022
Wen Xianjue President Clara Ng Honorary Secretary
Aqilah Honorary Treasurer
Joanna IVP
Tristan Lee EVP
Winston Steffi Tan Wan Lin
Amadea Yee Stephanie Goh
Deborah Zi Ang
Fay Goh Zoie Low Han Jun
Qiu Leyi Charlene Seow
Jack Sun Sonia Wong
Welfairies Publications
Sports Directors
Business Secretaries Dental Public Health
International Relation and Education
WHYDIDYOUCHOOSETOBEPD? WHYDIDYOUCHOOSETOBEPD? WHYDIDYOUCHOOSETOBEPD?
Kelly:Imightaswelldosomethingfun.IgotaskedbyAnqi,soIthought“Whynotjustdoit?”
Anqi: I was the Internal Vice President of Dental Club and one of my responsibilities included overseeing the orientationcamp.ButIalsowantedtoplanorientationbecausemyJC’sorientationwasquitefun.Itwasreallyfun being in the OG and talking to the OGLs, so it made me want to recreate that experience for the juniors. The year above us was quite nice as well even though it was on zoom, so obviously it was a bit harder, but they made dentistry feel a little bit more welcoming for us in this new environment. How we were elected was that the class shortlistedsomenamesandaformwassentouttotheclasstovoteforthePDsandICs.
WHATWASYOURVISIONFORTHISE-ORIENTATION? WHATWASYOURVISIONFORTHISE-ORIENTATION? WHATWASYOURVISIONFORTHISE-ORIENTATION?
Anqi:Ithinkapartofitwastoimproveonthefirste-orientation.
Kelly: Something entertaining. We wanted something that could help with bonding especially since we weren’t meeting physically. We actually planned a physical camp at first because there was hope that it was going to be in reallife.Unfortunately, inMarchorApril,theychangedtheirminds,soitendedupbeingonline.Thewaywedidit wasweadaptedwhatwehadfromthephysicalcampproposaltotheonlinecampproposal.
COULDYOUSHARESOMEDETAILSABOUTTHEPHYSICALCAMPTHATYOUACTUALLYPLANNED COULDYOUSHARESOMEDETAILSABOUTTHEPHYSICALCAMPTHATYOUACTUALLYPLANNED COULDYOUSHARESOMEDETAILSABOUTTHEPHYSICALCAMPTHATYOUACTUALLYPLANNED FFORTHATWASINCORPORATEDINTOTHEE-ORIENTATIONORWHATEXACTLYFROMTHEPHYSICAL FORTHATWASINCORPORATEDINTOTHEE-ORIENTATIONORWHATEXACTLYFROMTHEPHYSICAL ORTHATWASINCORPORATEDINTOTHEE-ORIENTATIONORWHATEXACTLYFROMTHEPHYSICAL CAMPWASN'TINCORPORATEDINTOTHEEORIENTATION? CAMPWASN'TINCORPORATEDINTOTHEEORIENTATION? CAMPWASN'TINCORPORATEDINTOTHEEORIENTATION?
Kelly: No ball games When changing it over to the online one, we actually struggled a lot because the physical one had an amazing race planned out. The idea was to get an RC, and there would be rooms with escape problem or a mazeandevenforsecretpartner. Forsecretpartner, weendeduphavingtoaskinteresting questions andprompts forthejuniorsinsteadofhavingtoclimbthroughabunchofchairswhileblindfolded.
YOUMENTIONEDTHATYOURTEAMPLANNEDFORAPHYSICALCAMPANDTWOMONTHSBEFORE YOUMENTIONEDTHATYOURTEAMPLANNEDFORAPHYSICALCAMPANDTWOMONTHSBEFORE YOUMENTIONEDTHATYOURTEAMPLANNEDFORAPHYSICALCAMPANDTWOMONTHSBEFORE WHENYOUGUYSREALIZEDTHATTHERESTRICTIONWASN'TFALLING,ITHADTOBECHANGEDTO WHENYOUGUYSREALIZEDTHATTHERESTRICTIONWASN'TFALLING,ITHADTOBECHANGEDTO WHENYOUGUYSREALIZEDTHATTHERESTRICTIONWASN'TFALLING,ITHADTOBECHANGEDTO ONLINE.DIDYOUGUYSHAVEABACKUPPLANALREADYFROMTHEBEGINNINGORDIDYOUONLY ONLINE.DIDYOUGUYSHAVEABACKUPPLANALREADYFROMTHEBEGINNINGORDIDYOUONLY ONLINE.DIDYOUGUYSHAVEABACKUPPLANALREADYFROMTHEBEGINNINGORDIDYOUONLY CHANGEEVERYTHINGTWOMONTHSBEFORE? CHANGEEVERYTHINGTWOMONTHSBEFORE? CHANGEEVERYTHINGTWOMONTHSBEFORE?
Kelly: We honestly mostly changed everything two months before. It was not super rushed though, because at that point of time for the physical camp, the ideas were there, but a lot of the logistics weren’t settled yet. The massive spreadsheets like assigning facils to the juniors and everything, that was most of the problem. Coming up with the ideaswasn'tasbadastheadminworkwhichwouldhavebeendoneforthephysicalcameatthesametimeanyway. So for the planning two months beforehand, we spent a few days just really trying to refine it and then borrowing fromthepreviousyear’sproposalssincetheydiditoverzoomaswell.
SPEAKINGOFCHANGES,WHATWERESOM SPEAKINGOFCHANGES,WHATWERESOME SPEAKINGOFCHANGES,WHATWERESOME OFTHETHINGSYOUWANTEDTOCHANGE OFTHETHINGSYOUWANTEDTOCHANGE OFTHETHINGSYOUWANTEDTOCHANGE ORKEEPFROMYOURYOURYEARONEEORKEEPFROMYOURYOURYEARONEEORKEEPFROMYOURYOURYEARONEEORIENTATIONCAMP? ORIENTATIONCAMP? ORIENTATIONCAMP?
Anqi: We changed up the programmes a little. We askedourbatchforfeedback,likewhatgameswere fun, and we took out some of the games that we didn't really enjoy as much, added new stuff. Honestly, we were really planning to have physical, so when we got the news in May which wasabout2monthsbeforethee-orientation,itwas quite disappointing. I don't think there was anything drastic difference, I mean there was an improved secret partner. For the secret partner, I think the big picture was probably the same, but theformatwasdifferent.
Kelly: I think our year’s orientation was also shorter across consecutive days. However, we wanted to spread it out because we realized that during our e-orientation, we got sick of logging onto zoom for consecutive days where you spend the whole day, five hours a day in front of the computer. It gets tiring and we thought that if we spreaditout,therewouldbemoretimeinbetween the days for the OGs to talk in the group chat or whatever. We had a bingo as well to facilitate the OGsdoingtheirownstuffduringtheirowntime
WEREYOUWORRIEDTHATTHEE-ORIENTATION WEREYOUWORRIEDTHATTHEE-ORIENTATION WEREYOUWORRIEDTHATTHEE-ORIENTATION WASGOINGTOBEONLINEANDWERETHERE WASGOINGTOBEONLINEANDWERETHERE WASGOINGTOBEONLINEANDWERETHERE CONCERNSANDCHALLENGESTHATWEREFACED? CONCERNSANDCHALLENGESTHATWEREFACED? CONCERNSANDCHALLENGESTHATWEREFACED?
Kelly: Yeah, for sure. I mean, you can't really dispute it, it's not as fun having a zoom orientation as compared to physical ones. We struggled a lot with the prompts and questions for games and secret partner because how much are you willing to share over zoom with eight other people you've never met before as compared to more organic bonding that you would find in a physical camp. You're walking from place A to place B and you will definitely talk topeople.
Anqi: On the more intangible end it would be the energy which cannot really be felt across zoom. It's really just different online. We really tried to hype the OGLs and the OGLs tried to hype the juniors and OG seniors as well. You really need the energy to keep the atmosphere even though it'slikeonline.
WHATWEREYOURFONDESTMEMORIESFROMORIENTATION? WHATWEREYOURFONDESTMEMORIESFROMORIENTATION? WHATWEREYOURFONDESTMEMORIESFROMORIENTATION?
Kelly:IwenttosomesecretpartnersthatwerequitequiteinterestingbecauseIwentaroundalotoftheroomsand someofthesecretpartnerswerehavinggoodconversationswhichwaswhatwehadhopedfor.
Anqi: There was a game called Family Feud, I thought it was a pretty interesting game, I enjoyed watching the OGs playthat.
Kelly: Oh, I liked the OG performance video, the one at the Sentosa beach with the Gangnam style, that was high productionvalue.
HOWWASITLIKEWORKINGWITHYOURBATCHMATESTOPLANORIENTATION,FORDRYRUNS HOWWASITLIKEWORKINGWITHYOURBATCHMATESTOPLANORIENTATION,FORDRYRUNS HOWWASITLIKEWORKINGWITHYOURBATCHMATESTOPLANORIENTATION,FORDRYRUNS ETCETERAANDDOYOUTHINKYOUBATCHMATESBONDED? ETCETERAANDDOYOUTHINKYOUBATCHMATESBONDED? ETCETERAANDDOYOUTHINKYOUBATCHMATESBONDED?
Kelly: We only had one dry run but it was really good we got almost the whole batch because we said it a few months in advance like “You MUST come it's only 2 hours, you have to come!” So I think almost everybody showed up and ran came through the sequence of events, gave them a briefing, played some games and got some feedback and adjusted accordingly. The dry run was for games and also for the admin side of the zoom. We had to test the breakout rooms, time how long it would take to get ready to breakout into rooms. We only really needed one dry runforzoom.However,Ithinktherewouldbemoredryrunsforphysicalcamps.
Anqi:Intermsofbonding,Idon'tthinkitwasthatbad.Ofcourse,wealreadyhadanideaofschoolalready.
Kelly:Ithinktherewassomebonding.WedidputsomeunlikelyOGLpairstogetherandattheendoftheday,they were a lot more friendly with each other. We also did mix the OG seniors up. We tried to put people with their friends and also with people that they weren't so close to so they wouldn't feel like “I don't know anybody there, I won’ttoshowup”butinsteadthatyouknowsomeonetherebuttherearesomepeoplethatyoudon'tknowaswell. I'mnotsureifitequatedtothemgetting along betterwiththeother. Personally, within myOG,Ithinkitwasquite good.AlotofpeoplethatIdidn'texpectwouldshowup,showedup.
Anqi:Likewise,itwasveryniceseeingalotofourfriendsstepupasOGLs.
DOYOUFEELTHATTHEYEAR2TURNUPWASVERYHIGHOR DOYOUFEELTHATTHEYEAR2TURNUPWASVERYHIGHOR DOYOUFEELTHATTHEYEAR2TURNUPWASVERYHIGHOR AVERAGE? AVERAGE? AVERAGE?
Kelly: It was actually really good. We tried to get everybody to come down for secret partner and I think only two people could notmakeit.
Anqi: I guess it's kind of like your past with RAG as well, I mean some people don't, I think in the end, I hope you guys are still goingforRAG.
IIUNDERSTANDTHATDENTALCLUBOVERSEASE-ORIENTATIONANDASTHEIVP(REFERRINGTO IUNDERSTANDTHATDENTALCLUBOVERSEASE-ORIENTATIONANDASTHEIVP(REFERRINGTO UNDERSTANDTHATDENTALCLUBOVERSEASE-ORIENTATIONANDASTHEIVP(REFERRINGTO ANQI),THATPUTSYOUINCHARGEOFTHEWHOLEEVENT.WERETHEREANYCONCERNSOR ANQI),THATPUTSYOUINCHARGEOFTHEWHOLEEVENT.WERETHEREANYCONCERNSOR ANQI),THATPUTSYOUINCHARGEOFTHEWHOLEEVENT.WERETHEREANYCONCERNSOR IISSUESREGARDINGDENTALCLUBANDHAVINGALLTHESECHANGES? ISSUESREGARDINGDENTALCLUBANDHAVINGALLTHESECHANGES? SSUESREGARDINGDENTALCLUBANDHAVINGALLTHESECHANGES?
Anqi:Idon’tthinkso.Bythen,itwasaboutmorethanayearintoCOVIDsoeverythingwassettled.Sure,sometimes it was difficult when I communicate with the supervisors and they don't reply or take longer to write proposals. However,Ithinkaswestartedplanningquitefarinadvance,sowewasacomfortablebuffer.
Kelly: I remember that if we wanted RAG to happen, it would be 10 people at most and it wouldn't have the whole junior class. They said we could have year ones and year twos but 10 to 15 people performing only, so it wasn't fair forthejuniorssowejustdidn'tdoit.
Anqi:WealsofeltthatitdidnotalignwiththepurposeofRAGinDentistrywhich,fromwhattheseniorstoldus,is for batch bonding within and between two batches (year 1s and 2s). Having only 10, 20 people perform at on one timeisreallynotfairanddefeatsthepurposeofRAG.Wejustthoughtthepurposewouldbeabitoffifallwefocus onisgettingthegoldforthesakeofdoingit.
IIHEARDTHATYOUGUYSWEREALREADYPLANNINGFORRAG,SOWHENDIDYOUGUYSSTOP IHEARDTHATYOUGUYSWEREALREADYPLANNINGFORRAG,SOWHENDIDYOUGUYSSTOP HEARDTHATYOUGUYSWEREALREADYPLANNINGFORRAG,SOWHENDIDYOUGUYSSTOP PLANNINGANDPUSHINGFORIT? PLANNINGANDPUSHINGFORIT? PLANNINGANDPUSHINGFORIT?
Anqi:IfIremembercorrectly,wehadacoupleofmeetingsandwealreadyhadadocumentwithIthinkfourscenes in mind. However, I don't think we started out any actual work. When we learnt that of the commitment it would take.SomepeopleinourclassweighingagainstwhatImentionedpreviouslysowedecidednottopushforRAG.
ALTHOUGHRAGWASTOUGHTOCONDUCT,YOUGUYSSTILLWENTAHEADWITHFLAG.BUTEVEN ALTHOUGHRAGWASTOUGHTOCONDUCT,YOUGUYSSTILLWENTAHEADWITHFLAG.BUTEVEN ALTHOUGHRAGWASTOUGHTOCONDUCT,YOUGUYSSTILLWENTAHEADWITHFLAG.BUTEVEN FFORFLAG,WERETHEREALSOQUITEABITOFRESTRICTIONS? FORFLAG,WERETHEREALSOQUITEABITOFRESTRICTIONS? ORFLAG,WERETHEREALSOQUITEABITOFRESTRICTIONS?
Anqi: The event planning like the interaction with the kids was affected and we ended up doing other things like makingavideobutitwasneverlikewhatwewantedittobe.
ANYFINALWORDSABOUTORIENTATIONORTOPEOPLEWHOREADORJUNIORSTOCOMEWHO ANYFINALWORDSABOUTORIENTATIONORTOPEOPLEWHOREADORJUNIORSTOCOMEWHO ANYFINALWORDSABOUTORIENTATIONORTOPEOPLEWHOREADORJUNIORSTOCOMEWHO WANTTOCAMPPDS? WANTTOCAMPPDS? WANTTOCAMPPDS?
Kelly:Makesureyouknowhowtouseexcel.Excelisyourfriend.
Anqi:Itwillbefun,itwillbecool,itwillbetiringsometimesbutIthinkitwillbeworthitintheend
Sojusttoclarifyyourresearchright nowisaboutthebiofabricationand youaresolelyfocusedonthat.
Yes Biofabricationisanewword 3D printinggoesmoretowardsthe engineeringside;biofabricationis3D bioprintingwhichgoesmoretowards thebiologicalside
DrNileshkumarDubeyisaprofoundprofessorhereatthe FacultyofDentistry(NUS),researcher,starcricketplayerand avidrunner HeobtainedhisBDSin2009atMaharashtra UniversityofHealthSciences,Nashik,India,PhDin2018atthe NationalUniversityofSingapore,SingaporeandisaPostDoctoralFellowattheUniversityofMichigan,UnitedStates Sincethen,hehascontributedgreatlytotheworldofresearch, involvinghimselfinfieldslikeElectrospinning,Material Development,DrugDeliveryandespecially3D&4DBioprinting andBio-fabrication Itwasourgreatesthonourtohavethis opportunitytointerviewhim Inthisinterview,hewilltalkabout hisfamilybackground,hisjourneyfromwantingtobeapolice mantoenteringdentalschoolandhispersonaltakeon educationandlife
Iamatraineddentistandpracticedforafewyears,butI wantedtodosomeresearch,soIwenttoTheUniversityof TexasMDAndersonCancercentreinHoustonwhereIbegan myresearchonlivercancer.Thisexperiencemarkedthe beginningofmyresearchcareer.IthenpursuedaPhDin dentalmaterialsattheNUSFacultyofDentistry.DuringmyPhD, IworkedwithmaterialscalledGraphene,whichinvolved coatingimplantstoenhanceosseointegration,aprocessthat ensurestheimplantbecomesfullyintegratedintothepatient's body
AftercompletingmyPhD,IwenttotheUniversityofMichigan whereIstartedworkingon3Dprinting,specificallyonbio printing Bioprintingisdifferentfromtraditional3Dprinting becauseitinvolvesprintingbiologicalcomponentslikecells, growthfactorsorproteinmolecules Byincorporatingthese biologicalcomponents,wecanmakeprintedmaterialsmore "natural"andbettersuitedforuseinthehumanbody
Currently,Iamworkingon3Dand4Ddimensionalprinting In traditional3Dprinting,theprintedmaterialisstaticanddoesn't changeovertime However,in4Dprinting,timeisafactorand theprintedmaterialcanchangeshapeasthepatientgrows Forexample,inthecaseofacleftlippatient,theboneintheir facewillgrowovertime,andifwedon'thaveamaterialthat changesshapeasthepatientgrows,theymayfaceproblems witheatinganddrinking With4Dprinting,wecancreatea materialthatchangesshapeasthepatientgrows,eliminating theneedformultiplesurgeriesandreducingcosts
Ithinkthisisquitelikeashiftfromwhatyousaid,yourinterestinlivercancersowouldyousaythisisabig drasticchange?
Itwasnotabigdrasticchange.AsImentionedbefore,IwasaclinicalpractitionerandIpracticedbackhome. However,beingfromafamilyofresearchers,wheremyfatherwasascientistindefencesectorandmybrotherin-lawwasabiologicalresearcher,Iknewthevalueofresearch.Thisledmetoseekanopportunitytobecomea clinicalscientist.Toachievemygoal,IenrolledinaprogramintheUSthatallowedmetodosomeresearchand clearmyNationalDentalBoardExamination
However,possibilityofhavingtorepeatthestudyofdentistryagain,whichwouldcomeatahighopportunity cost,researchwasanexcitingandrewardingexperienceforme Afterconductingresearchonlivercancer,I gainedvaluableinsightintothenatureofresearch Asaformerdentist,Ibelievethatmyclinicalexperiencewill bemoreusefulindental-relatedresearchratherthanincancerormedical-focusedresearch Asaresult,it becameevidenttomethatpursuingaPhDindentistrywasthebestpathforward
Atthecoreofmydecisionwasadesiretoconductresearch,atermthatencompassesawiderangeofactivities Tissueengineering,forexample,hasbroadapplications,frombonetocardiactootherorgans However,atthat time,Isimplywantedtogainresearchexperience
Youmentionedthatyourfamily’sbackgroundismostlyresearcherssowouldyousaythatithelpedyou decidewhatyouwantedtodo?
Mmm,no.Ireallywantyouguystoknowthatyouguysareyoung,youguysaretheincomingfuturefortheworld, notonlyforSingapore!Forme,itwasnotbylookingatmyparents.Itwasmyownreward;itwasmyown experience,anditwaswhatIwantedtodo.MyfatherbeingachemistryresearcherusedtodoexperimentsandI usedtothink“Ah,thisisnotpossible”.TillIbecamearesearchermyselfdidIrealisethevalueofmyfather’swork. Iwantedtobeaspecialpoliceofficeractually,wecallitIPSofficerinIndia.Butagain,youknow,inAsia,parents wantyoutobeadoctororengineer.Myfatherwasnotfarfromthat.Hewantedmetopursueacareerinthe medicalfieldashedidnotwantmetofeellikeitwassomethingI‘wantedbutnevergotthatopportunity’.With thedreamofbeinganeurosurgeon,Ionlywantedacareerinthispart(pointingtothebrain),butIgotthewhole part(pointingtothewholehead).Aftergraduating,Istartedpractising.Mybrother-in-lawsentmeapictureof himselfwithDrFrancisCrickoneoftheNobelprizewinnerforDNAstructurewithDr Watson DoyouknowDr Watsonwas24-26yearsoldwhenhemadethisdiscoverywithDr CrickanditmademerealisethatI,too,could makesomenewdiscoveriestoo Mydecisionwasn’tinfluencedbymyfatherorbrother-in-law,itwasallinmy ownexperiencebytryingitoutmyself Iwouldsuggesteveryonetobetheirownpersonandtonotfollow someone’swishesblindly,becauseyoudon’tknowwhatthefuturewillholdandwhoyouaretrulymeanttobe Personally,dedicationandmotivationaremoreimportantthansimplypassionitself Thatworditselfisvery flawedbecausepassioncanchangeeverytime,especiallyinmyprofession Inresearch,wefeelchangeevery daybecausewecannotpredicttheoutcomesinceweareworkingwiththeunknown,soIcannotsimplyrelyon passion Itappliestolifetoo So,forme,itwasnotjustpassion,itwasmydedicationandmotivationtodoing thingsirrespectively IfI'maclinician,Igivemy100% IfIbecamearesearcher,Iwouldgivemy100%toresearch
AssomeonewhoisinvolvedinAItechnologyandresearch indentistry,whatchangesundergoingindentistry particularlystrikeyou?
Thethingis,nowpeoplearestartingtousetheterm“artificial intelligence”andallthesetechnologiesaresoeasily accessiblenow.Oneofthemostsignificantchanges undergoingindentistryistheintegrationofdigital technologiesintodentalpractices Digitaltoolssuchas3D printingandCAD/CAMsystems,arebecomingmore prevalentandaretransformingthewaydentalprocedures areperformed
Wearenowtalkingaboutartificialintelligencebecauseitwill reduceourworkload That'stheobjectiveofartificial intelligenceandrobots Artificialintelligenceisalso somethingwhichwillreducetheerror Forexample,AIhasthe potentialtorevolutionizeclinicaldentistrybyproviding dentistswithpowerfultoolstoimprovediagnosis,treatment planning,andpatientcare AIalgorithmscananalyzelarge amountsofpatientdataanddetectpatternsthataredifficult forhumanstodiscern Thiscanhelpdentistsmakemore accuratediagnosesanddevelopmoreeffectivetreatment plans AI-poweredchatbotsandvirtualassistantsarealso beingdevelopedtoprovidepatientswithinformationabout oralhealthanddentalcare Thesechatbotscananswer questions,provideadviceondentalhygiene,andeven scheduleappointments
Wouldyousaythatlikeamongstallthe breakthroughsindentistry,biofabricationis onethehotareasthatyou'reworkingonin theindustry?
Yes,thisisindeedoneofthehotareas. Researchandtechnologyshouldbea convergenceofdifferenttechnologiesworking togethertocomplementeachother Thisis similartohowsocialmediaplatformslike Instagram,Facebook,andTwittercomplement eachotherwithdifferentfeatures Thesame appliestoresearchtechnologieslikebiofabricationandartificialintelligence The combinationofbiologyandengineeringis importanttounderstandhowweregenerate dentaltissue,understandmasticationforces, jawmovementsandmanymore It'simportant torememberthatbreakthroughsisabout addingontowhatwehaveand complementingtheoldwiththenew Thereisa relationshipbetweentheoldandnewbecause theyarebuiltonthesameplatform Ultimately, biofabricationandartificialintelligencearethe heartofdentistryandmedicine,buttheywill continuetobeimprovedandcomplemented byothertechnologies
WhileIwasstudyingdentistry,Iplayedcricketattheinter-statelevel,representingmycollegeagainstteams fromotherstatesinIndia.Inadditiontoplayingformycollegeteam,Ialsocaptainedmyschooland neighbourhoodteams.In2015,IhadtheopportunitytocaptainthecricketteamintheOlymNUSgamesandled theteamtothesemi-finals.Apartfromcricket,Ialsohaveapassionforrunningandhavecompletedseveral races,includingthreemarathons-twoinMichiganandoneinSingapore.TheraceinMichiganwasparticularly memorableasitinvolvedrunninginsub-zerotemperatures.Duringmystudentandpostdoclife,aswellas presently,IenjoyvolunteeringasamedicalassistantforsportseventssuchastheASEANParaGames,Singapore NationalGames.IamconsideringparticipatinginanIronmaninsomeyear,haha.
Singapore's Masterchef Finalist and Sensational Food Instagramer, @thebatteredboy.
So for starters, would you like to introduce yourself, your name, like what you did or what you're doing now?
I am Johnathan and I am back in school I have a food account I run on the side, called thebatteredboy. It is really on hiatus at the moment and I am mostly using my own account @johnathancheww for food-related content I am a private chef and do cooking gigs on demand when I am not dying from revision and talking to my patients
That's super interesting. So how did your passion for cooking start?
Cooking is a form of stress relief for me. It’s a hobby that is really a big passion project. I was a greedy kid, overweight, not the most confident, and food was always the way I dealt with stress Cookin was and still is my emotional outlet.
I enjoy the process. I usually don’t eat everything I make because it's quite a fair bit – so I pass it to my family and friends I think there’s some satisfaction from the validation I get when people enjoy my food too. I really like how transformative cooking is - like magic It starts off as a blank canvas in the form of simple ingredients and you slowly build up flavours through trial and error, eventually (and hopefully), you end up with a spectacular dish (or not, but it's fun)
We know that you went to Master Chef and you went to the finals, and then you won, so how would you describe your whole entire journey in Master Chef and how has this experience impacted you?
I think there’s quite a bit of growth in my motivation to be on MasterChef Initially, It’s always something on my bucket list – you know, like travelling alone, running some marathon. Genuinely did not expect the school to allow it. I just thought it will be a fun experience and if anything, it was more for exposure – how many times am I going to have another opportunity to join a cooking competition as a dentist? Anyway, as the competition progressed, I became more confident in my cooking abilities each time I receive favourable feedback on my dishes. I definitely did not sign up for MasterChef because I wanted to win, but I wanted to continue being in the competition because of how far I had already gone
Through MasterChef, I discovered my cooking style. It’s a big thing actually, maybe something philosophical like finding yourself? Or it's like how artists discover their art style or how athletes decide to specialise in a particular field position. I felt like most of my cooking was 100% lifted from the recipes I see, but now, I am more certain about the kind of food I want to cook, so that’s cool. (Anyway for those interested, I like to call it mod-sin, or modern Singaporean food, where I put my own spin on local dishes)
So, speaking of the LOA, right, were your family and friends supportive of your decision to take an LOA leave school and then do a Master Chef?
My family was most definitely not super keen, while my friends were suspiciously keen *laughs* Well, I didn’t tell my family until I got through the auditions, I am quite sure they reconciled their initial concerns about missing school with the expectation that I would at best, last a week in the competition. Anyway, I wrote an incredibly long email to the faculty, I think it's probably longer than some of the essay questions in exams, no kidding
I submitted my application for the competition telling only my closest friends, so obviously I was crazy baffled when I got through the auditions and got notified that I will be in the top 18 I was genuinely quite concerned about missing school and contemplated really hard about going forward with the competition (filming hasn’t started). Eventually, I left the decision to the rest of the universe and submitted the LOA, knowing that this was one of those instances in life where you really might have just one chance to experience and boy, it was worth it
Is it tough like juggling dentistry, catching up in school and striking a balance?
YES I am going to be real honest, I always felt like school was tough/is tough. That struck a chord when I was still on the fence about taking an LOA, I am always going to feel like work is a struggle, there isn’t enough time, yadayada, and I thought, you know, life doesn’t get any easier, if not now? Then when?
It all boils down to your priorities and personal expectations If there isn’t enough time, make time Ok, just another disclaimer, this is something I am still learning and I think that’s ok, more importantly, once you make a decision, stick to it and see it through. Striking a balance is tough, but look around you, so many of our schoolmates has 20 other extracurriculars, goes for spin *daily*??? I really believe its important to strike that balance, I would even say, it’s a need. As dental students, we hate to admit it, but we are so fixated on the grades, on whether we finish our lab works on time, whether we meet our clinical requirements We all need an outlet to release that stress, so maybe its spin classes for you. For me, its food.
Were there any similarites or overlaps in cooking and dentistry?
Yes Both makes you smile There is also a lot to clean and disinfect in both, my absolute favourite activity. Jokes aside, as professions, I believe both cooking and dentistry place a lot of emphasis on quality service, attention to detail and the overall experience. In fine dining, you pay for the food and the tiny intricate leaves on your plate. You also pay for the ambience, the warm plates, the staff who explains the story behind the dish. This experience parallels what we pursue in dentistry – quality patient care I think patients come in for a simple restoration, but I believe they return for the exceptional experience they received, not only from the dentist, from the nurses, and even the reception even. Anyway, these are just my very unqualified thoughts as an amateur.
Something perhaps more relevant to my past experience competing on MasterChef We are given a predetermined amount of time for every challenge Many people think cooking is the stressful part, but no cooking isn’t that stressful, it’s the waiting, waiting for the verdict, waiting to find out if you were good enough. On TV, it might appear as though the judges go through the judging process very quickly, but no, think about it, they have to taste our food, one contestant at a time, so anyway, that was the stressful part I liken this to the competency tests in school, you are stressed before and after the test, doubt anyone has time to stress out during the short span of an hour
Okay, we just have, like, a short, quick fire section. You can just either answer short answers or you can elaborate if you want to.
So what was your favorite episode or challenge in the show?
Episode six, because I was truly in my element and made desserts for both challenges. Probably used up a lot of my luck when I won both rounds
What is your favorite cuisine to eat and to experiment with?
I love Asian food, would pay good money over mediocre café food that anyone can put together in 30 minutes ANYDAY!!! Peking duck?
Yes Toasted white bread with avocadoes and smoked salmon??? Do better
What is your go-to dish to cook
Fried chicken stuffed with sticky rice
Like any particular style?
Its really a fusion between Korean fried chicken and Korean rice balls. I debone chicken wings that have been marinated in Korean seasoning, and stuff it with said kimchi rice balls Deep fry it to perfection.
Who is your favourite chef?
My grandmother. I grew up staying with her when I was a kid. My interest in food definitely started from there
Okay, then I guess it's the end of the interview. Do you have anything you want to say to people who are passionate about something but are afraid to pursue it?
Just go for it You are always going to be afraid anyway. If you fail, you know you tried. Its better than never knowing how far you could have gone It’s important we do well in school, but we are allowed to pursue our interests Personally, I think you shouldn’t limit your 4 short years of university to just doing labwork and chasing the As. Then again, I suppose everyone has their own priorities and life goals so do whatever you please as long as you are satisfied and still graduate as a competent dentist
I'm Jian Kiat, currently working at Geylang Polyclinic My social media handle is @Bobbatov
Honestly, I just created an account and started posting But back then, I always believed that I should have done something other than dentistry or dentist school, and I guess that the easiest thing that came to me back then was doing social media for fun, so I just wanted to try it
W
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When did I start? Um the whole content creation thing? Maybe around 2019 probably I know it was towards the end of year 1 Then I was thinking that maybe because back when I applied for dental school, there wasn’t a lot of content for dentistry, at least for NUS, and so I thought I would share some insight on it But that was towards the end of year 1
So, I guess I tried to start off on the more educational route Sharing about getting into dental school, dental school life, and dental health Then, I realised people don’t really care about dental health, so I just started making whatever I wanted. So it’s all over the place Usually, it’s just random ideas that come into my mind
So, for YouTube, it’s quite low for me, usually 100 to 200 views For Tiktok it varies and depends on how well the content matches A good video can hit above 100k views, and average ones hit around 10k views. But I don’t really focus much on the views, just what I feel like making, and it suits the Tiktok trend and my needs
I guess right at the start, the main obstacle is being scared of people judging you, or your content being bad, and people mocking you for creating content I guess it slowly goes away as you keep working, so that’s the only way to work on it
Another problem will be the school load getting heavier as you progress through the years Eventually, you get less and less time to do this.
With regards to the faculty, there was a point in time I was just making dance videos all over school, and It reached the point where I did it in clinics, and they got quite angry at that So, they told me to take down the videos, and I just listened because my graduation was on the line But after that, juniors started posting (videos) in the school, and I was like what the heck? I guess the faculty didn’t talk to them, only me, so I just took that as a green light to start again But I was in a bit of a rut after that, just keeping a low profile
But the weird thing was that they were worried about coming across as unprofessional, but when I was doing that dancing stuff at that point in time, the feedback I was getting was actually quite good, and friendly. So I’m not sure what they were so worried about
Like what motivated me to keep going? That’s a good question I guess largely, I kind of enjoy it, that’s one thing And I do have some friends that are content creators themselves, but they’re in different unis, so it’s quite hard to draw inspiration from them until some of my friends were (unintelligible), then it got easier Of course, the videos doing well on Tiktok also definitely motivated me to keep going I guess eventually, what I hoped to achieve from these things is a side career to dentistry
I mean it pulled my grades down a bit Nah, I’m just kidding For me it has been positive It pivoted me to document as much memories of school as possible. At the same time, it’s a stress reliever from dental school, because when I’m doing social media stuff I’m not thinking about dental school at all I’m not thinking about whatever I have left to do, I’m not thinking about whatever patients I have, whatever requirements I have to meet So in a sense it helped me, and it also distracted me from my studies
So you thought school was strict, then outside in polyclinics, different polyclinic groups will be more strict, and as a licensed professional you have no excuse to cross lines. So I guess if you mess up too much it can backfire. Polyclinic organisations will take action against you But in terms of time, I have more time to do social media, more time to edit, more time to think of ideas, and obviously less stress
Yeah Right on their orientation briefing, they said no filming in clinics, and no filming the logo of the polyclinic group It’s quite strict
Yeah definitely So for the content I make, I plan to pivot it away from dental content, because it is quite boring, and when I’m making it I feel quite bored too, so I can’t expect anyone to watch it And I’m not in dental school anymore, so I can’t make dental school life content. So I guess I’m just going to document the cool stuff I do along the way. For my upcoming videos, it’s like my channel vlogs, but I add in a challenge element to it So when I went to Bangkok, it was trying to get as many Tiktok followers as possible When I went to Korea, it was trying to become fluent in Korean, which is a lot more fun than the content I had been making in dental school, and it’s easier to film too, because it’s just my life
Generally, when they consume content, don’t consume blindly, and study the trend Know why this video is on the for you page, and maybe read the comments to know why people enjoy this video. Keep posting of course, and when you upload your own videos, study what went well for that video. On the dental school side, keep posting but don’t offend any of the teachers If they tell you to take a video down, just take it down and say sorry Just keep filming, they’re generally ok with it as long as it’s not in clinics
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Could you introduce yourself?
Hello guys, I’m Zatarie, I’ve just graduated from NUS Dentistry and I'm currently working at Woodlands Polyclinic as a Dental Officer I like making videos and finding good food in my free time!
What social media platform do you use?
I use Instagram and Tiktok All of my social media accounts have the same handle- Zatarie
What a special name right? :b
How did you start your tiktok/social media?
During my clinical years, Dr Chan - an OMS surgeon - shared about the outreach social media has in the promotion of Oral Health Education Through social media we are able to reach out to a greater audience and educate more people about dental health Initially, my content was more focused on what life was like as a dental student. I let my viewers live through a day of my life as a Dental student. They get a sneak peak of the 4-years NUS BDS course
I started off making videos which answer many of the queries my juniors/peers had about life as a dental student. I felt honored that my content was able to make a difference – like the one on my Lasik experience. Netizens who watched my videos were using my referral quotes and messaging me on social media to find out more about my experience
A close friend Bobbatov later introduced me to tiktok While I initially found the learning curve slightly steeper, I came to the realisation that tiktok is a tool that can truly allow us to reach out to a wider audience if the content was done right. It is very inspiring for young clinicians like us knowing that our videos on tiktok had an outreach of 5-6 figures, because then we know that the chances of making a difference has really increased
What was your most viewed videos and how many views did you get from each?
Other than videos about OHE, I’ve also created content with people from my social circle and my most popular video was about my Boy’s Trip to Korea There were 7 of us and we were all males, but funnily enough we spent quite some time purchasing cosmetics for our girlfriends It had 1 1M views It was truly inspiring to know that at its peak, we have the ability to spread OHE to millions of people or even more. 1.1m is around ⅙ of the Singaporean population.
You mentioned that you started off making dentistry content, did it evolve over the years?
IInitially, many of the videos i uploaded on tiktok was about dental school. As a dental student I wake up at around 6, reach school at 745 and study/work until 1130pm My life revolve around school, therefore it was inevitable that a bulk of my content was schoolrelated I felt like this had struck a chord with most students who also led a life that was mostly focused on their education. After graduation I tend to make more videos about my life as a dental officer/ dating adventures or food adventures
Do you think that social media has affected your life in dental school?
I think it has affected my life in dental school positively Dental school can be a stressful environment and everyone must find an efficient way for us to destress. For me, making videos and hitting the gym is a way of de-stressing. Sometimes there are frustrating situations that arise in dental school, and such activities are efficient as a good outlet at diverting our attention However we must note that social media is a double edged sword and we need to use it carefully
Would you say that your motivation for doing social media is to promote dental health or is there another motivation as time has progressed.
I am interested in sharing about healthcare/ my life experience as seen in my enthusiasm regarding my lasik video. My videos started off being more about OHE and life as a dental student. My main aim is to share more about my experience as a student in NUS FOD.
The fact that our faculty is so small translates to the lack of information regarding the application process, life as a student or what we learn etc Personally, I was not exposed to much NUS dental content when I was attempting to apply to dental school and I felt that watching such content would have an impact/ better prepare me for what’s to come. This is why I make content about the faculty of dentistry to let others learn more about our learning and school culture
I find it heartwarming that some of the students who were successful in their application to FoD, had benefited from my content, and that my advice had worked. Some of them Dmed me to share with me their success although there were a few who eventually studied medicine instead :p It was heartening to see them as my dental juniors when the new semester started As long as my videos manage to help at least one person, I feel that it is time well spent.
"As long as my videos manage to help at least one person, I feel that it is time well spent."
Previously I asked if social media had affected your life in dental school. To add on that, it is inevitable for hate comments to surface, what is your response to such comments?
Most of my comments are positive, but of course there are always a few hate comments Some of them make inaccurate comments like ‘All dental students are very rich, that’s why you guys are able to afford the school fees and study this course’ I feel like they have a wrong impression of the students and I would let them know that there are actually a number of students including myself on financial aid and a number of us were working part time throughout school If the comments are just outrightly hateful, I choose to ignore it I choose to see them as engagement boosters - people who post hateful comments are still viewing my content and comments also help the social media algorithm to build more engagement to my content. By hating on my content and trying to deter me, they are ironically helping me in increasing engagement Haters gonna hate~
Fujifilm HD-R
Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros 100 II
Olympus 35 SP Rangefinder
Ilford Pan 400 film
Fuji XT10
23mm f2 lens
Fujifilm HD-R
Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros 100 II
