The 'Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project' succeeds in improving young children’s oral health and will continue to serve kindergarten students throughout Hong Kong

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The "Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project" was launched by the Faculty of Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong in 2019 and is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The project has three focus areas: children, families and schools. It aims to improve the oral health of pre-school children in Hong Kong through outreach service and educational seminars, strengthen parents' and schools' knowledge of children's dental care, promote community awareness, and reduce the prevalence of dental caries in pre-school children.

The project has now received continued funding from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for the launch of a second phase, running until August 2026. The second phase will continue to abide by the concept "Safeguard Our Children by Oral Care" and services will be further expanded to foster pre-school children's awareness of oral health and provide teaching support and resources for kindergarten teachers.

At the ceremony, Professor Chu Chun-hung, Project-in-charge and Associate Dean (Knowledge Exchange and Development) of the Faculty of Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong, reviewed the results of the project's first phase. "Despite being in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic during the first four years of the project, it still provided more than 190,000 oral examinations for students in over 750 kindergartens in Hong Kong, and 230,000 silver diamine fluoride treatments on dental caries, with no cross-infection or adverse reactions," Professor Chu said.

Ms. Imelda Chan, Head of Charities (Healthy Community) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, was encouraged by the project's results. She noted that the programme data indicates continued strong demand for dental care services among schoolchildren. Therefore, the Club has again supported the university to launch the second phase of the "Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project" on a larger scale. Healthy Community is one of the priority areas of the Club's charity strategy. In terms of oral health, the Club emphasises preventive care and education, sector capacity building in oral health services and community-based dental services for underprivileged groups. Over the past few years, the Club has supported various projects related to dental care, aiming to align with the Government's oral health policy.

Professor Lo Chung-mau, Secretary for Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said, he was delighted that HKU Faculty of Dentistry and the Hong Kong Jockey Club take forward the second phase of the programme, "This is in line with the Government's policy of developing primary dental services to help citizens in preventing dental diseases and protecting their teeth. I would like to extend my gratitude to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for its donation, the excellent team of dentists from the HKU Faculty of Dentistry for providing check-ups and treatments to the students, and the participating schools for their support."

Professor Zhang Xiang, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong, said the University has always been committed to knowledge exchange with the community. The "Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project" integrates academic and scientific research for contributing to the society. He thanked all stakeholders, including The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, kindergarten principals, teachers, parents and children who have participated in the project, for their trust and support.

The schools and parents participating in the programme have been satisfied with its services and expressed their support. Parent Ms. Wong shared that her child enjoys dental check-ups with classmates at school. She believed that receiving dental treatment in a familiar kindergarten environment could alleviate a child's nervousness and anxiety. The programme also saves time and trouble for working parents.

The "Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project" aims to promote public awareness of oral health from an early age, solve social problems caused by dental diseases through continuous kindergarten outreach dental services, and develop a professional service model in the long run that is in line with government policies and provides reference for related service development.

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The second phase of the project provides the following free on-site services:

1. Dental check-up for kindergarten students and application of silver diamine fluoride solution on the surface of dental caries to prevent further decay.

2. Oral hygiene workshops for young children (newly added in the second phase of the project)

3. Oral health education seminars for parents

4. Individual consultations for parents of young children with severe dental caries

5. Training for teachers and provision of teaching materials (newly added in the second phase of the project)

For more information about the project, please visit the website: https://www.jccohp.hku.hk/

For enquiry, please email [email protected] or phone 2859 0547 / Whatsapp 5313 0081 to get in touch with the project team.

Media enquiries:

Doris Chan

Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong

Phone: 2859 0547

Email: [email protected]