Nearly one in 10 Hongkongers has received dental treatment in Shenzhen, while local dentists are increasingly handling follow-up cases after patients return from the mainland, according to a new survey.
The study, conducted by the Hong Kong Dental Association and the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Dentistry, collected responses from 216 private dentists and 311 residents through questionnaires and interviews between last November and March.
More than half of the residents surveyed said they frequently encountered advertisements for Shenzhen dental clinics, while about 10 percent had sought treatment there.
Each Hong Kong dentist handled an average of four patients a month who required follow-up care after receiving treatment on the mainland, the survey found.
Dental implants accounted for 67 percent of such cases, followed by root canal treatments at 53 percent and fillings at 49 percent.
The association stressed that dental treatment was a medical service requiring professional knowledge, clinical experience and precise execution, rather than an ordinary consumer purchase.
Its associated risks should never be underestimated, it added.
While acknowledging that many dentists outside Hong Kong maintained high professional standards, it raised concerns about the marketing practices of some dental chains.
These included carrying out higher-risk procedures without complete patient records, oversimplifying treatments through promises of rapid recovery and using aggressive sales tactics that could pressure patients into making poorly informed decisions.
The association urged the government to strengthen regulation and public education, warning that residents could be influenced by extensive advertising.
It also called for closer cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland authorities to ensure practitioners on both sides uphold professional and ethical standards, protecting patients and the quality of dental care.
