Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau today visited an elderly care home in Kwai Tsing and the Kwai Chung Hospital Dental Clinic to learn about dental services provided to groups in the community with specific needs. 
 

Prof Lo first of all visited the Kiangsu Chekiang & Shanghai Residents (Hong Kong) Association Kwai Tsing Hostel for the Elderly, where he observed the work of outreach dental teams in providing basic dental care services to hostel residents under the Outreach Dental Care Programme for the Elderly (ODCP).
 

He then proceeded to the Kwai Chung Hospital Dental Clinic to discover more about the special care dental services provided by the clinic to psychiatric inpatients.
 

Prof Lo said: “Making reference to the view of the Working Group on Oral Health & Dental Care, the Government is committed to developing primary dental services for different age groups with the premise of preventing oral diseases and enhancing the oral health of the community, while concurrently providing more targeted dental care services to the underprivileged, those with financial difficulties, disabilities or special needs, and high-risk groups.”
 

The 2023 Policy Address outlined a number of initiatives to enhance oral health in the community, including collaboration with non-governmental organisations to boost emergency dental services for underprivileged groups and strengthening the Department of Health’s special care dental services for people with disabilities or special needs by extending treatment to 900 new patients per year. 
 

The Elderly Dental Assistance Programme, under the Community Care Fund, will also be enhanced, allowing more eligible seniors to receive dental services such as dental check-ups, scaling, fillings and extractions.
 

Another initiative announced in the Policy Address is the Primary Dental Co-care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents, which involves subsidising preventive dental care services for adolescents aged 13 to 17 and is an extension of the School Dental Care Service for primary students.
 

Prof Lo stressed that the Government attaches importance to the oral health of residents in elderly care homes and seniors using day care centres/units.
 

He highlighted that the Government launched the ODCP, under which outreach dental teams set up by NGOs visit elderly care homes and day care centres/units for seniors to provide free oral check-ups and oral healthcare services, as well as training for caregivers on daily oral care, in 2014.
 

The health chief expressed gratitude to the outreach dental teams for maintaining a high level of professionalism in providing services for the elderly.