The historical development of dentistry in Hong Kong

GKC Chiu, WIR Davies
Department of Periodontology and Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Prince Philip Dental Hospital, Hospital Road, Hong Kong

Dentistry in Hong Kong during this century has advanced from an informal streetside practice to a discipline that now serves the community by way of registered oral health care personnel. Throughout the years, public attitudes towards dental care have also changed: from a palliative approach involving the extraction of teeth when pain arose, to the prevention of dental disease even at the formative stage of dentition through water fluoridation, regular therapeutic care, and oral health maintenance. The education and professionalisation of practitioners has evolved from apprenticeship to the establishment of a structured university curriculum and postgraduate specialist training of international standards.

Hong Kong Med J 1998;4:73-6

Key words: Dentistry, Hong Kong, History of medicine, 19th cent.; History of medicine, 20th cent., Hong Kong