The Legislative Council promotes the development of public dentistry Lo Chung-mao weighs prevention: no free and complicated services are planned

This afternoon (11th), the Legislative Council passed the motion of "Comprehensively reviewing and improving Hong Kong's dental service system and manpower needs" proposed by Chan Hang-pin of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong.

Chen Hengbin pointed out that Hong Kong citizens have great demand for public dental services, but there is a serious shortage of relevant manpower. He urged the government to formulate a "Ten-Year Dental Development Strategy" as soon as possible, review the dental service system and human resource support, and formulate short-, medium-, and long-term development measures. Comprehensively develop public dental services and establish a safety net for basic dental care services.

Many councilors are concerned about the shortage of dental manpower. New Thinking Di Zhiyuan pointed out that the elderly do not want to become "toothless tigers". He suggested that dentists trained by Commonwealth countries be introduced to alleviate the shortage of manpower.

Chen Xuefeng from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong proposed to attract students from the Greater Bay Area and the "Belt and Road" to study dentistry in Hong Kong.

Legislative Council passes motion to review dental service system

Di Zhiyuan pointed out that some elders told him that there are only 11 districts in Hong Kong with dental clinics, and citizens may not be able to make an appointment even if they wait late at night.

He suggested bringing in dentists from the Commonwealth of Nations to solve the shortage of manpower. He also suggested buying dental services from non-profit organizations, and opening up the balance of school children's dental care for public use.

He took out the "toothless tiger" props, saying that the elders did not want to be "toothless tigers", and hoped that the government would help the public to "put on a tooth".

Chen Xuefeng pointed out that dental implants cost tens of thousands of yuan, which is a heavy burden for the elderly, so many elderly people choose to turn a blind eye. He suggested that the government include dentistry in the public medical system.

He said that at present, there are only 4,000 dental clinics per month, and only pain relief and tooth stripping will be provided, and no fillings or dentures will be provided. The practice is not people-oriented.

He suggested attracting students from the Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative to study dentistry in Hong Kong, and requiring them to serve a certain number of years in Hong Kong after graduation to alleviate the shortage of dentists.

Lu Chongmao: Legislation will be introduced within this year to force overseas dentists to stay in public hospitals for a certain period of time

Lu Chongmao said that the government's dental policy is mainly about prevention, targeting vulnerable groups and providing emergency services. He also said that the "toothless tiger" can be used as a negative example. You can’t get enough food.” However, he pointed out that “a tooth for a tooth” is not the best method, because dental implants are expensive, difficult and dangerous. He emphasizes that prevention is better than cure, and the government hopes to put prevention first and use it effectively. resources to encourage citizens to prevent dental disease rather than devoting vast resources to provide free complex dental services.

He continued to point out that the number of dental bachelor's degrees funded by the UGC will increase from 80 to 90 each year, and more than 400 dental graduates will enter the market in the next five years.

He said that the government is studying the introduction of non-locally trained dentists. After drafting the draft, it will consult stakeholders. The goal is to propose legislative proposals to the Legislative Council within this year. It will also consider requiring newly graduated and non-locally trained doctors to serve in public hospitals for a certain period of time.

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