Internship for dental graduates next year at the soonest, says no.2 health chief

The Health Bureau will arrange the one-year internship for local dental graduates next year at the soonest to avoid affecting the job market and employment for those graduating this summer, Under Secretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun said. 

Her remark came in Wednesday’s Legislative Council meeting as lawmakers vetted the Dentists Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024, which includes a proposal of importing non-locally trained dentists into the city apart from the internship arrangement. 

Lee told the council that the goal is to enhance the overall professionalism of dentists and allow new blood in the industry to accumulate clinical experience on the job, stressing that the arrangement has nothing to do with the manpower supply. 

A similar approach has been adopted for new doctors for many years and the arrangement has received support from the Dental Council of Hong Kong as well as the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong, Lee noted. 

She added that the bureau is now formulating relevant details along with the Department of Health and dental degree students. 

The no.2 health chief pointed out that Hong Kong now faces a serious shortage of dentists and cited a 2020 forecast that predicted the manpower shortage will be 115 and 102 dentists by 2030 and 2035, respectively. 

She continued that the vacancy rate for dentists under the Department of Health has reached 27 percent early this year, seriously impacting dental services provided by the public healthcare sector. 

Medical and health services constituency lawmaker David Lam Tzit-yuen requested to call a public hearing and said some dental students from HKU would like to express their opinions directly to the lawmakers. 

Yet, bill committee chairman Tommy Cheung Yu-yan voiced his reservations and cited concerns of spreading Covid and flu if the chamber becomes too crowded. Still, LegCo decided to call a public hearing after a number of lawmakers threw their support.