A Brief History

Hong Kong Dental Association was founded in 1950, formerly known as Hong Kong Dental Society. It has a membership of over 2,400 members, representing around 90% of the registered dentists in Hong Kong.

Since its establishment, the Association has been encouraging lifelong learning of the profession and elevating professional skills and standards. It has been providing members with continuing education opportunities by organizing monthly meetings, workshops, one-day courses, etc. and inviting local and overseas academic and renowned experts to give lectures.

The Association has been recognized as a representative of the dental profession by the Government, which has consulted the Association on matters related to dental policies. In the early days when dentistry was not yet fully developed in Hong Kong, the Association gave dental development recommendations to the Government proactively such as water fluoridation scheme, set up of a dental school in Hong Kong (now the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong) and a training school for dental hygienists, etc. The Association is the Implementing Agency of the Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme and has representation in various advisory committees of the Government. The Association is also fully aware of the importance of oral health education. To make people aware of the importance of a sound oral health habit, it has been organizing dental health programs and disseminating correct oral health messages to the general public through different platforms.

The Association will strenuously uplift the international status of Hong Kong dentists. In the international arena, the Association is a member of the FDI World Dental Federation and one of the founder-member associations of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation. It hosted international dental congresses to foster exchange of dental knowledge and skills such as the 83rd FDI Annual World Dental Congress (AWDC) in 1995 and the 100th FDI AWDC in 2012 as well as the Asia Pacific Dental Congresses (APDC) in 1984 (the 11th APDC), 2004 (the 26th APDC), 2009 (the 31st APDC), 2016 (the 38th APDC) and 2023 (the 44th APDC). In 2010, the Association also launched its own original international conference, the Hong Kong International Dental Expo and Symposium (HKIDEAS). It also aims at intensifying the academic exchange activities and ties with the Mainland counterparts with a view to making greater contributions to the development of dentistry in China and creating a brilliant future.

In response to the special dental service needs of different groups in society, the Association has actively worked with the Government and the industry to implement public and private dental subsidy programmes, providing appropriate dental services to eligible individuals. Since September 2012, the Hong Kong Dental Association has been the implementing organisation for the “Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme,” providing eligible elderly people with free removable dentures and related dental treatment services. In addition, from August 2013 to 2018, with funding from the Government, the Association assisted in implementing a pilot dental service programme specifically for people with intellectual disabilities, providing dental services to eligible adults with intellectual disabilities. Afterwards, the Government launched the “Healthy Teeth Collaboration” programme, through which free dental services continued to be provided to adults with intellectual disabilities at dental clinics operated by several non-governmental organisations.

In the years to come, Hong Kong Dental Association will adhere to its philosophy of encouraging the profession to strive for excellence on the one hand while promoting oral health education to enhance public oral health status on the other. As a representative of the dental profession, the Association will continue giving inputs to the Government on its consultations on various policy issues.