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Statistics

2009 Health Manpower Survey

Summary of the Characteristics of Dentists Enumerated

I.  Dentists Covered

1.1   The dentists covered in the 2009 HMS were dentists registered with the Dental Council of Hong Kong on the list* of registered dentists resident in Hong Kong under the Dentists Registration Ordinance (Chapter 156) as at the survey reference date - 31.8.2009.

1.2   The number of dentists covered was 1 938.

1.3   Of the 1 938 dentists covered, 1 319 had responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 68.1%. Among the respondents, 1 244 were economically active†‡(active) in the local dental profession as at 31.8.2009 and 75 reported to be economically inactive†§ (inactive) (Chart A) .

*  As the 2009 Health Manpower Survey only aimed at covering all dentists practising in Hong Kong, dentists on the list of registered dentists outside Hong Kong of the Dental Register were excluded from the survey.

†  In the survey, the criteria used in defining economically active / inactive followed those recommended by the International Labour Organization, which are also being used by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong.

‡  “Economically active” dentists comprised all “employed” and “unemployed” dentists. “Employed” dentists referred to those dentists practising in the dental profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, while “unemployed” dentists referred to those dentists who (a) were not practising in the local dental profession during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the local dental profession during the 30 days before the survey.

§  “Economically inactive” dentists comprised the dentists who were not practising in the dental profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, excluding those who had been on leave during the survey period and who were “economically active” but “unemployed”.

1.4   Of the 1 244 active dentists, 1 232 were practising in the local dental profession, ten were seeking jobs and two were expecting to return to the original job or waiting to take up new job in the local dental profession during the 30 days before the survey. The survey results presented in paragraph 1.6 below were based on the 1 232 responding dentists who were practising in the local dental profession as at 31.8.2009. As certain questionnaires contained missing information, percentages presented below may not add up to 100%.

1.5   Of the 75 inactive dentists, 38 reported practising overseas / in the Mainland and 37 reported not seeking job in the local dental profession during the 30 days before the survey ( Chart A ). Among the 37 inactive dentists who reported not seeking job, the main reasons reported for not seeking job included: 17 (45.9%) were retired, 11 (29.7%) wanted to take rest / having no motive to work / having no financial need and five (13.5%) were engaged in household duties.

Chart A : Activity Status of Dentists Covered

Text Version

Of the 1 938 dentists covered, 1 319 (68.1%) had responded to the survey, while the remaining 619 (31.9%) had not responded. Among the respondents, 1 244 (94.3%) were active in the local dental profession whereas 75 (5.7%) reported to be inactive in the local dental profession. Among the 1 244 active dentists, 1 232 (99.0%) were practising in the local dental profession, ten (0.8%) responding dentists who (a) were not practising in the dental profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work in the local dental profession during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the local dental profession during the 30 days before the survey and the remaining two (0.2%) responding dentists who (a) were not practising in the dental profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) were expecting to return to the original job or waiting to take up new job in the local dental profession during the 30 days before the survey. Of the 75 inactive dentists, 38 (50.7%) reported practising overseas / in the Mainland and 37 (49.3%) reported not seeking job in the local dental profession during the 30 days before the survey. Of these 37 inactive dentists, 17 (45.9%) reported retired, 11 (29.7%) wanted to take rest / having no motive to work / having no financial need, five (13.5%) reported engaged in household duties and the remaining four* (10.8%) had other reasons for being inactive. Note: * Figure refers to the number of responding dentists who reported working in other profession or undertaking study. Percentage may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

1.6   26 dentists did not indicate their sex. Of the remaining 1 206 active dentists enumerated who were practising in the local dental profession, 874 (72.5%) were male and 332 (27.5%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 263. Apart from 27 dentists who did not indicate their age, the median age of the remaining 1 205 active dentists enumerated was 45.0 years. The median age of the active female dentists enumerated was 38.0 years and that of their male counterparts was 47.0 years.

1.7   The responding active dentists were requested to indicate the characteristics of their main jobs*. Distribution by sector for the main job showed that the largest proportion (75.5%) of the active dentists enumerated were working in the private sector, followed by those working in the Government (17.1%), the academic† sector (4.3%) and the subvented sector (2.3%). Among the 930 active dentists enumerated who were working in the private sector, the largest proportion (66.9%) were working in solo practice, followed by those working in group practice (31.8%) and other private institutions (1.3%).

1.8   The median age of the dentists enumerated was 46.0 years for those working in the private sector, followed by 44.0 years for those working in the academic sector, 43.0 years for those working in the Government, 41.0 years for those working in the Hospital Authority and 37.0 years for those working in the subvented sector.

* Main jobs referred to the jobs in which the dentists had spent most of their working time.

† Includes universities and the Prince Philip Dental Hospital.

1.9   Of the 1 232 active dentists enumerated, 85.6% spent most of their working time on general dentistry, followed by 11.4% on specialist practice, 1.5% on teaching / education and 0.8% on administration / management.

1.10  The median number of hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 1 232 active dentists enumerated was 44.0 hours. 78 (6.3%) active dentists were required to undertake on-call duty, with a median of 8.0 hours of on-call duty (excluding normal duty) per week.

1.11  Regarding the average number of consultations / patients encountered per working day, 47.5% of the active dentists enumerated reported a range of 11 to 20, 37.2% reported to have 10 consultations / patients or below and 13.6% reported as more than 20 consultations / patients per working day.

1.12  Of the 1 232 active dentists enumerated, 58.0% held Bachelor’s Degree obtained in Hong Kong, 25.1% held Bachelor’s Degree and 15.0% held Doctoral Degree issued by overseas institutions as their basic qualifications.

1.13  Of the 1 232 active dentists enumerated, 500 (40.6%) had obtained additional qualification(s), 729 (59.2%) did not obtain any additional qualification and three (0.2%) did not reveal whether they had obtained additional qualification or not. Of the 500 dentists with additional qualification(s), 247 (49.4%) had obtained one additional qualification. Among them, 79 (32.0%) had obtained Master’s Degree, 50 (20.2%) had obtained post-graduate diploma and 47 (19.0%) had obtained fellowship as their additional qualifications.

1.14  Of the 500 active dentists who had obtained additional qualification(s), 409 (81.8%) had obtained additional qualification in one field. Among them, 38.6% were in general dentistry, 12.5% in orthodontics, 10.5% in prosthodontics and 9.5% in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

1.15  Regarding Continuing Medical Education (CME) training, 1 064 (86.4%) active dentists revealed that they had participated in CME training in 2009, 158 (12.8%) did not participate in any CME and 10 (0.8%) did not reveal whether they had participated in CME training or not. Among the 1 064 active dentists who had participated in CME training, the distribution of CME points received in the past 12 months was: 1 to 5 points (7.4%), 6 to 10 points (10.3%), 11 to 15 points (12.8%), 16 to 20 points (14.8%), and more than 20 points (54.7%).

II.  Trend Analysis

2.1   Comparison of findings of the 2009 HMS with those surveys before 2003 should be cautious as the survey methodology and reference date had been changed (Chart B) .

2.2   Between 1982 and 2009, the number of dentists increased from 747 to 1 938.

Chart B:  Number of Dentists Covered by Year (1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009)

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In the 1982 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 747. In the 1984 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 882. In the 1987 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 158. In the 1990 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 411. In the 1992 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 458. In the 1996 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 478. In the 2000 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 589. In the 2003 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 671. In the 2004 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 714. In the 2005 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 753. In the 2006 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 794. In the 2007 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 838. In the 2009 Health Manpower Survey, the number of dentists covered was 1 938. Note: Figures of the year 2000 and before refer to the number of dentists registered with the Dental Council of Hong Kong on the list of registered dentists resident in Hong Kong as at the 1st of July of the respective years, the figure of 2003 refers to that as at the 31st of December 2003 and the figures of 2004 to 2007 and 2009 refer to that as at the 31st August of the respective years.

2.3   A decreasing trend was observed in the proportion of male dentists, as indicated by a continuous decrease in the overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) from 679 in 1982 to 263 in 2009 (Table A) .

Table A : Selected Characteristics of Active Dentists Enumerated (1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 )

Text Version

Department of Health
The Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
January 2011

14 Jan 2011