All member states in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are ratified signatories of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, disability and oral health (DOH) can be an elusive ambition for developing nations. There is a need for our dental professionals to come together.

The ASEAN CIRCLE is a fellowship of like-minded and action driven individuals within the ASEAN region promoting special care dentistry and oral care in vulnerable persons. These regional members will be accepted as international members under SOCN, if they take on a project or initiative within their countries (or a region), and will continue to receive SOCN membership benefits for that year. 

This is to promote action within the region. Projects can range from

• getting a inclusive dental product to be officially registered in your country, through working with authorities, corporations, universities etc.

• starting a special care dentistry association or society within this country

• organising special care dentistry based conferences with invitation to a regional audience

• creating inclusive materials (e.g. communication tools or IT apps), or providing translation to established ones (e.g. Bahasa Melayu, Thai language etc.)

• working with various authorities such as the ministry, ministers, advocacy leaders and organisations, universities locally and overseas, to establish the specialty of Special Care Dentistry

• and many more...

Through collective feedback from key ASEAN SCD dental stakeholders, the ASEAN circle shall focus on 5 key aspects:

1. Advocate and lobby to authorities and stakeholders via a common platform 

2. Engage PWD and their communities in oral health, and lobby to high-level stakeholders to initiate sector changes.

3. Encourage policy/guidelines development at regional, national, and cross institutional levels 

4. Formalise special care dentistry as a field, a career, and a comprehensive path for upskilling

5. Empower care providers, suppliers, disability organisations and other local stakeholders, in disability oral health promotion, within and beyond borders 

Reference: Lim et al., 2022

DETAILS OF INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP (IM) 

• IM shall be conferred on persons who are rendering, or have rendered, notable service to the advancement of Special Oral Care or Special Care Dentistry outside Singapore. 

• IM do not have to make payment or dues for membership or application fees.

• IM are recommended by the Committee and elected by majority at a general meeting.

• IM will neither be eligible to vote nor hold office.