• Faculty Highlight
• Expressions Winter 2023

Give Our Children A Healthy Smile

Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project started a new phase

Children learn how to brush teeth properly at the Children Oral Hygiene Workshop.

The Jockey Club Children Oral Health Project (JCCOHP) is a pioneering initiative in Hong Kong dedicated to enhancing the oral health of preschool children in the region. The project is funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and led by three distinguished chair professors from the Faculty - Professor Chun Hung Chu, Professor Edward Lo, and Professor Cynthia Yiu. The project aims to address the prevalent issue of early childhood caries (ECC), or tooth decay in young children, through dental care and education programmes.

Early childhood caries (ECC), or tooth decay in preschool, is one of the most prevalent diseases in children. It causes pain and infection, consequently affecting their growth and development. However, ECC is preventable, and the JCCOHP seeks to play a vital role in improving children’s oral health by providing dental care and education in schools.

A child undergoes an oral screening by our dentist in the kindergarten.

The JCCOHP offers free-of-charge outreach services to kindergartens, including dental check-ups and silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution treatment for children. SDF treatment is simple, painless, and well-received by children. It is proven to be effective in slowing down tooth decay, and no adverse effects have been reported. Success in silver diamine fluoride therapy will stain the cavity black, indicating successful prevention of tooth decay.

The JCCOHP aims to reduce the prevalence of tooth decay in children. Phase I of the JCCOHP, which began in 2019, has been concluded in August 2023. A total of 754 kindergartens have joined the initiative; the project team has performed over 191,000 dental check-ups, treated more than 230,000 decaying teeth with SDF, and provided 6,550 teachers with training. The project has a satisfaction rate of 97% among parents and teachers. In 2022-23, the tooth decay prevalence was 31% and the child had an average of 1.3 teeth affected by tooth decay (dmft 1.3).

Children learn the importance of oral health through an interactive workshop.

Phase II of the JCCOHP started in September 2023 and continued to offer free-of-charge services to kindergartens in Hong Kong, targeting 900 kindergartens. In addition to providing dental check-ups and SDF solution treatment, the project has a new component – Children Oral Hygiene Workshop. The workshop aims to empower children to take an active role in their oral health. It will educate children on the importance of oral health, proper brushing techniques, healthy eating habits, and the importance of regular dental check-ups to maintain good oral hygiene.

The Faculty is delighted to witness the significant improvement in the oral health of children in Hong Kong. The project’s success lies in its prevention-focused approach, with early intervention and family education playing a crucial role in reducing tooth decay in children. Phase II of the project will build on this success and further reduce the prevalence of tooth decay in children, ultimately improving the oral health of children in Hong Kong.

Parents attend an oral health seminar in the kindergarten.