Hong Kong police arrest man after dentists raise alarm over cheap cross-border dental care centres

Hong Kong police have arrested a man and raided a mainland Chinese dental care chain’s consultation centre in the city over alleged illegal practices. A dentist’s office. File photo: Daniel Frank, via Pexels. The arrest on Thursday came after a dentist group warned Hongkongers about the risks of seeking treatment over the border in Shenzhen, as a growing number of mainland clinics seek to attract Hong Kong patients. Police said on Thursday that the 72-year-old man was arrested in North Point for alleged illegal practice of dentistry, following a joint raid conducted by the force and the Department of Health at a Wuyuan Medical consultation centre, a mainland dental care chain. “A suspected intra-oral scanner, dental chair and dental instruments were seized at the scene,” a government statement read. The man has been detained for further investigation. Police warned that the illegal practice of dentistry is an offence that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison – seven years if the act has resulted in injuries. Employers of unregistered dentists could also be punished by up to three years in jail. The Hong Kong Police Force emblem. File photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP. The Hong Kong Dental Association (HKDA) said at a press conference on Wednesday that the city has seen an increasing number of advertisements from mainland Chinese dental clinics promising low prices and fast treatment. Some patients are not well informed of the risks before travelling outside of the city for treatment, the HKDA said in a press statement. According to a survey conducted by the dental group last November, each Hong Kong dentist treats an average of four patients per month who require follow-up care after receiving dental services outside the city. The survey involved over 200 clinics. Among the cases requiring follow-up, 67 per cent of patients required dental implants, 53 per cent needed root canal treatments, and 49 per cent required fillings, with some patients seeking treatment for multiple issues. ‘High-risk dental procedures’ Dentist Chan Chi Chun said at the press conference that the marketing practices of certain dental chains were “very concerning.” “They perform high-risk dental procedures without a full understanding of the patient’s medical history, exaggerate how simple treatments may be, boast about rapid recovery times, and even use pushy sales tactics to create a false sense of urgency, forcing patients into high-risk procedures,” Chan said in Cantonese. “If patients undergo treatment without accurate and comprehensive preoperative assessments, it gives rise to immense risks,” Chan said. A woman receiving dental treatment. File photo: Andrea Piacquadio, via Pexels. The HKDA also reported that a chain of dental practices had recently set up a consultation centre in Hong Kong. The group said it sent undercover staff to conduct consultations in July and discovered unqualified staff at the consultation centre were wearing doctor’s coats and using intraoral cameras to perform diagnoses and provide treatment recommendations. The centre was suspected of conducting illegal practices and violating the Dentists Registration Ordinance, the group said. Growing trend of cross-border care Local media reported that there has been a growing trend of Hongkongers heading off to Shenzhen for dental care since Hong Kong lifted all Covid-19 restrictions in early 2023, owing to a shortage of dental services in Hong Kong as well as high prices. According to information provided by Hong Kong and Shenzhen clinics, a dental implant costs HK$18,000 to HK$35,000 in Hong Kong, while – in Shenzhen – the cost may be under RMB 10,000 (HK$11,577). Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She previously worked at Initium Media as chief editor for Hong Kong news and was a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation serving the underprivileged. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Irene is the recipient of two Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards and three honourable mentions for her investigative, feature and video reporting. She also received a Human Rights Press Award for multimedia reporting and an honourable mention for feature writing. More by Irene Chan