TNAG-0507-FCO40-572-Development-of-medical-and-health-services-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 145

1

CONFIDENTIAL #

機密

CHAPTER 11

DENTAL HEALTH

38

11.1

In the circumstances of Hong Kong's development

Less

the emphasis to date has been placed on the establishment

of basic medical and personal health services.

attention has accordingly been focussed on the importance

of the dental health of the community as a whole.

Existing dental services

11.2

The need for a

school

Dental

Care

Service

G.F. 323

At present the dentists in the Medical and Health Department provide a full dental service for

Government officers and their families and Government

pensioners. The department also provides simple dental treatment for the inmates of penal institutions, specialist treatment for patients in Government hospitals, and

This

emergency treatment for members of the public. apart, all other dental treatment is carried out by

private practitioners.

11.3

To introduce a general dental service on a scale comparable to the Government's medical services would be an extremely costly development, and one

the

beyond Government's ability at this stage to finance

To this end

or to staff. Such however is the importance increasingly

placed by the community on this aspect of personal health that action to promote dental hygiene and proper

dental care should be vigorously pursued. steps will be taken to establish a school dental service and to provide an improved supply of dentists to the

general public.

11.4

When the School Medical Service was reconstituted

in 1964 no school dental care service was included because

of the shortage of dentists at that time and their

reluctance to join a scheme on the terms proposed by the

/Government

CONFIDENTIAL #

機密