Dental outreach at kindergartens begins on Sep 1

Starting September 1, kindergarten students will begin receiving free oral check-ups at their schools as part of a new Outreach Oral Health Programme launched by the Department of Health. Twenty-three designated service providers will travel to schools to provide dental and preventive services for children aged three to six annually. Parents will receive a report on their child's dental health and, if needed, referrals for further care. Reports of tooth decay will include personalized care instructions.

So far, 680 schools, or 71.7 percent of the city's 949 kindergartens, have signed up for the program. Dr Alex Chau, a senior dental officer, explained that some schools declined to participate as they already had similar services in place or were dealing with school transitions like moving to a new campus or closing. Despite these challenges, providers will continue to contact these schools to encourage their participation.

With this program, preventive dental services now cover all age groups and include free or subsidized options offered by the department. This initiative follows the launch of the Primary Dental Co-care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents in March of the previous year. Dr Kitty Hse, a consultant in charge of dental services, reported that as of August 12, approximately 10,000 teenagers had undergone checkups under the scheme.