Hong Kong’s Dental Health System Face Severe Shortage in Resources

Hong Kong: One of the world’s top-ranked dental schools is located in Hong Kong, but when it comes to providing dental care to the general public, there are major issues. With only 2,817 dentists in the city, the vast majority of whom work in the private market, the dental health system appears to be stuck in a severe shortage of healthcare resources.

While demand for dental care continues to outstrip supply, a great number of elderly continue to suffer from a toothless condition.

Dental staff shortage and the Great Resignation

Dentist Shortage in Public Institutions

The Dental Council of Hong Kong reports that there are currently only 3.7 dentists per 10,000 citizens, a ratio far behind the WHO’s recommendation of 5 dentists per 10,000 in industrialized countries. While there are nearly 70 vacancies for government dentists, only 10% of dentists work in public institutions.

Only 39 government dental clinics provide services for civil servants and their families, with only 11 providing emergency dental services to the public. The result is a severe shortage of resources, particularly for emergency dental care.

There is also a significant distribution issue in public dental clinics. With just one dental clinic providing street disease services in Hong Kong Island, a population of 1.22 million, and only two in Kwun Tong and Hung Hom, despite a population of 2.27 million, many citizens, particularly the elderly, wait all night to receive dental care.

Most public dental clinics only operate one to two days a week during the morning session, distributing between 32 to 84 dental care vouchers each time, leaving many in the general public underserved.

Unreliable Solutions 

To prevent citizens from queuing overnight, the Department of Health introduced a “preliminary registration” arrangement in six dental clinics providing “on-the-street” disease prevention services.

To qualify for the services, patients are required to register their information and verify their identity on the same day at midnight, then return to the clinic in the morning to collect the money.

However, many district councilors argue that the situation is far from ideal, with one community officer stating that it is unfair to ask an elderly person living alone to collect money at 12:00 am. Many still arrive early in the morning to wait for the distribution of vouchers, often facing long delays or missing out on dental care altogether.

The private sector may offer dental care, but with high costs, many delay seeking medical care until it is too late, exacerbating the problem. While Director of the Medical and Health Bureau Lo Chongmao agreed with the proposal of a number of congressmen to establish dedicated funds for dental care, he also admitted that public and private resources are not balanced, making it difficult for the public sector to compete with the private sector.

Ten-Year Dental Development Strategy

To provide citizens with basic, appropriate, and high-quality dental care services, Liu Xuelian, a community officer of the Federation of Trade Unions, has urged the government to formulate a “Ten-Year Dental Development Strategy.”

By increasing the number of public dental clinics, providing greater access to emergency dental services and addressing the imbalance between public and private resources, it may be possible to provide better dental care to Hong Kong’s underserved communities.

Source: HK01.com