Over 60% of new dentists join Department of Health after mandatory internship

About 60 per cent of Hong Kong’s first batch of dental graduates who underwent mandatory internship training have joined the city’s Department of Health, a move that has helped “significantly ease” the manpower crunch.

The development followed a controversial amendment to the Dentists Registration Ordinance in 2024, requiring all dental graduates in Hong Kong to complete a 12-month internship before obtaining a full licence starting in 2025. The measure aimed to enhance hands-on clinical experience in real-life settings.

Dr Kitty Hse Mei-yin, consultant-in-charge of the department’s dental services, said on Friday that the government had recruited 62 per cent, or 46 of the first batch of 75 interns.

The rest went on to work at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital’s teaching facility, at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), in non-governmental organisations or in the private sector.

“While students have learned a lot from their six-year undergraduate training, the internship allowed them to put what they learned in books into practice in the real world, meeting different kinds of patients in different roles under the support of experienced dentists,” Hse said.

“During the internship, they never know what kind of problems will be brought into the room by the next patients, which is different from their clinical training at school … that could enhance their clinical judgment and independent thinking skills.”