number of dentists practising in Hong Kong is probably 437, or a ratio of 1 dentist for every 9,300 population. The ratios in other countries
are:
United Kingdom
New Zealand
Japan ... Singapore
1:3,730 (1970)
1:2,540 (1970)
1:2,820 (1969)
1:5,150 (1971)
94. The World Health Organization considers (in a report on dental education) that each country must determine its own target for the number of dentists required to serve its population. The principles adopted by the International Dental Federation for development of a manpower programme in dentistry also emphasize that there is no optimum ratio of dentists to population except in terms of an individual country. The ratio will vary widely between the various countries and will also vary with social, economic and educational characteristics of the country.
95. In the circumstances, one can, for the purpose of calculating item (a) of paragraph 92 set a purely arbitrary ratio of 1 dentist to 6,000 population and see where that figure leads. It produces the following figures of requirements of dentists for the private sector:
96. As regards (b) of paragraph 92, the number of dentists required to staff the School-children's Dental Service is 12, beginning with two in 1979 to coincide with the first batch of graduates of dental nurses, and rising by annual increments of two.
97. As regards (c) of paragraph 92, the present establishment of dentists in the Government Dental Service is 70, It is estimated that three additional dentists will be required per year to meet future expansion. Thus by 1982 the establishment in the Government Dental Service would have increased to 97. This figure excludes replacement which is considered separately in paragraph 99.
98. These three categories of need can be summarized as follows:
School-
Government children's
Dental Service
Dental
Private Sector at a ratio of
Total Need
Service
1:6000
1973
70
651
721
1974
73
661
734
1975
76
672
748
1976
79
684
763
No. of
Total Population
Population served by
Population served by
1977
82
690
772
Dentists
Government
School
Population served by
required for
1978
85
697
782
Private
private
Dental
Dental
1979
88
703
793
Dentists
sector, at a
Service
Service
ratio of
1980
91
4
708
803
1:6,000
('000)
('000)
('000)
1981
94
714
814
('000)
1982
97
8
720
825
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)- (b)- (c)-(d)
(f)=(e)÷6
1973
4,185.8
280.0
3,905.8
651
1974
4,261.0
292.0
3,968.1
661
1975
4,337,4
304.0
4,033.4
672
1976
4,417,8
316.0
4,101.8
684
1977
4,501.3
328.0
4,173.3
690
1978
4,588.0
340.0
4,248
697
1979
4,677,6
352.0
42,7
4,282.9
703
1980
4,770.2
364.0
87.2
4,319
708
1981
4,865,0
376.0
132.9
4,356.1
714
1982
4,963.9
388.0
180.1
4,395,8
720
99. As regards (d) of paragraph 92 the Dental Register contains four categories of dentists, which can be regrouped into (a) the university- qualified dentists and (b) the unqualified dentists who were registered before 1940. At present 47% of the dentists in the register are un- qualified. After 1940 no more unqualified dentists were permitted to be registered. The number of unqualified dentists in the next 10 years will therefore decrease rapidly, as most of them will have reached the age of 60 years by the end of the period under review. The wastage rate for the two categories of dentists is assessed separately as follows:
41
40