Mainland Chinese dental clinics in Hong Kong come under scrutiny of authorities

Dental association alerts officials after visiting booths where staff offered free cleaning, used endoscopes to suggest treatments Models of gums and teeth at a Hong Kong dental expo. The Health Bureau and the Department of Health said they were following up on reports about booths run by mainland Chinese dental clincs in the city. Photo: Edmond So Hong Kong authorities have warned of possible enforcement action after mainland Chinese dental chains were suspected of operating illegally in the city, as local industry leaders called for tighter supervision. The Hong Kong Dental Association also said on Wednesday a poll of local practitioners found that each dentist needed to follow up on an average of four cases a month relating to treatment received across the border. The Health Bureau and the Department of Health said in a joint statement they had contacted the association to follow up on its reports of mainland clinics running promotional booths in the city. “We will not rule out taking enforcement action later,” authorities said. The association said the chains had set up consultation booths in busy districts in recent months, offering free teeth cleaning and cross-border shuttle-bus services to attract customers. Posing as customers, association representatives visited the booths this month and found employees dressed in white coats using endoscopes to recommend treatments, which raised concerns over violations of ordinances. Together with industry representatives from the mainland, the association called for stronger cross-border regulatory cooperation to monitor advertisements for non-local dental services in the city. “We advised the government to communicate directly with related authorities from neighbouring areas to make common regulations, so that everyone has rules to follow,” association president Spencer Chan Chiu-yee said. Since early last year, the department and police have conducted 13 joint operations over dental services, prosecuting seven people. Between 2021 and last year, 20 cases were prosecuted, resulting in 19 convictions. Dental services advertised in Shenzhen. A survey by dental students at the University of Hong Kong found that 10 per cent of respondents said they usually received dental treatment at clinics or hospitals in Shenzhen. Photo: Edmond So The association also said its poll of more than 200 local private dentists last November found that each respondent treated an average of four patients per month who needed follow-up treatment after receiving dental procedures outside the city. The most common cases involved dental implants, accounting for 67 per cent of the total, followed by root canals and fillings. Unhandled type: inline-plus-widget {"type":"inline-plus-widget"} Association counsellor Johnson Zhang Chen said skill levels on each side of the border had no “fundamental differences”, but the public should make treatment choices based on professional and transparent advice rather than “commercialised advertisements”. Dental students at the University of Hong Kong conducted a separate survey of 311 Hong Kong adults in March, finding that 51 per cent saw advertisements for Shenzhen dental clinics at least three times a week. Ten per cent of respondents said they usually received dental treatment at clinics or hospitals in Shenzhen. A resident in her 60s visited a Shenzhen clinic in late 2024 for an adjustment to her dentures after being advised against implants due to a narrow jaw bone, according to the association. She said staff persuaded her to undergo implant surgery and she discovered only on the day of the procedure that six implants were planned instead of the one she had agreed to. She ended up paying HK$20,000 (US$2,550) instead of HK$2,000 for one tooth. Wong said her mouth was swollen for more than 10 days, and a doctor in Hong Kong later found that implants had been placed into a nerve, forcing the woman to undergo two follow-up surgeries to remove all six implants. She reported that the damage was permanent, leaving her unable to wear dentures, with lasting numbness affecting her speech and ability to eat.