FAQ

The “Primary Dental Co-care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents” (PDCC) provides partial subsidies to private dental check-up services for adolescents once every calendar year upon leaving School Dental Care Service (SDCS). The PDCC assists the establishment of a reliable dentist-patient relationship for adolescents, so as to promote their life-long habit of regular dental check-ups for prevention of dental diseases.

To enrol in the PDCC, an eligible registered dentist is required to fulfil the following criteria

• Practising in a private healthcare facility that has obtained business registration under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310 of the laws of Hong Kong) and is registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (PHFO) (Cap. 633 of the laws of Hong Kong), or in an exempted small practice clinic under the PHFO. However, the implementation date of this section on premises that fall within the definition of clinic under the PHFO, is subject to the implementation date of clinic registration under the PHFO, to be announced by the Department of Health; and
• Being included in the General Register (GR) to practise dentistry in accordance with the Dentist Registration Ordinance (DRO) (Cap. 156 of the laws of Hong Kong) and holding a valid practising certificate; and
• Having enrolled as a healthcare professional (HCProf) in the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth); and
• Being listed as a Primary Care Dentist in the Primary Care Directory (PCD) or Primary Care Register (PCR) after its establishment.

The scope of subsidised services provided by Private Dentists includes the following items:

• Dental check-ups;
• Individualised oral health risk assessment;
• Dental scaling;
• Personal self-care advice on oral care and personal lifestyle for maintenance of good oral health;
• Fluoride application as a risk-based follow-up procedure; and
• Check-up report and explanation of the Scheme Participant’s oral health risk and oral condition.

Eligible registered dentists can enrol in the PDCC online through the eHealth.

Private Dentists under the PDCC are required to enrol in the Primary Care Directory (PCD). If Private Dentist are not enlisted on the PCD, they may submit an application online at www.pcdirectory.gov.hk. For details, please contact the PCD Hotline at 3576 3658 or email to phcc@healthbureau.gov.hk for further assistance.

After submission of enrolment in eHealth, the Private Dentist can click "Print Appendices" at the last page of "Enrolment Submission" to download related forms. The forms are also uploaded on the website of PDCC in the ‘Resources’.

For more details and video guide, please browse the website of the PDCC at www.communitydental.gov.hk/en/pdcc/index.html or call the PDCC hotline at 2111 3830.

To streamline the enrolment process for clinics in dental groups, eligible private dentists under their group practice can enrol as Private Dentists through their authorised Clinic Administrator(s) for provider-based enrolment via eHealth.

The dental group is required to submit the completed and signed Authorisation Forms for Private Dentists, for facilitating their enrolment by Clinic Administrators, and a summary list of the Private Dentists to the Programme Office via email to am3_cds@dh.gov.hk or fax to 2111 3877.

The Programme Office will proceed for the relevant settings on the IT Platform according to the received documents. Upon completion of the settings, Programme Office will notify the dental group by email. The authorised Clinic Administrator(s) can login to eHealth for completing the enrolment procedures of the Private Dentists by means of provider-based enrolment in the IT Platform and submit the required supporting documents to Programme Office accordingly

The Private Dentists will receive a confirmation email from Programme Office which includes relevant documents links, such as the website of the PDCC, for reference.

Private Dentists may terminate their participation in the PDCC by giving not less than 90 days' written notice, to the Programme Office via email to am3_cds@dh.gov.hk or fax to 2111 3877.

Private Dentists may contact the PDCC at 2111 3830 for assistance. The hotline operates from 8:45am - 1:00 pm and 2:00pm - 5:30 pm from Monday to Friday. If the line is busy or if the call is made outside of operating hours, Private Dentists may leave a voicemail and we will respond to the inquiry as soon as possible during our office hours.

If Private Dentist have any updates/ changes to make to the information they previously provided for enrolment, they are required to inform the Programme Office immediately via email at am3_cds@dh.gov.hk or by fax to 2111 3877. Upon receiving such request, the Programme Office will proceed with updating the information on the IT Platform and website.

Private Dentist should also inform the Primary Healthcare Commission of corresponding update of such information, by using the PCD online service provider platform. For enquiries about PCD, please contact the PCD Hotline at 3576 3658 or by email to phcc@healthbureau.gov.hk for further assistance.

To enrol in the PDCC, an adolescent is required to meet the following criteria:

• a holder of a valid Hong Kong Identity Card within the meaning of the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177 of the laws of Hong Kong), unless he/ she is a holder of the Hong Kong Identity Card by virtue of a previous permission to land or remain in Hong Kong granted to him/ her and such permission has expired or ceased to be valid; or is a holder of a valid Certificate of Exemption within the meaning of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap.115 of the laws of Hong Kong);
• an adolescent aged 13 to 17 (or will be aged 13 in the calendar year the application to enrol is made. For the avoidance of doubt, a person will cease to be eligible once he reaches the age of 18); and
• has joined the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHealth) and agrees to share his/ her data in the eHealth with related service providers.
  For eligible person aged below 16, a substitute decision maker (SDM) should register eHealth for him/her.

Eligible individuals can enrol in the PDCC at the clinics of Private Dentists who have enrolled in the PDCC.

Scheme Participants can select a suitable Private Dentist by searching the website of the PDCC, which provides the list of Private Dentist with their essential information including practice district and co-payment fee under the PDCC.

The Government shall pay the Private Dentist a fixed amount of subsidy in respect of the provision of the subsidised services to each Scheme Participant. The current amount of subsidy provided is HK$200.00. It may be adjusted by the Government from time to time.

The Private Dentists shall be entitled to charge the Scheme Participants the co-payment for the provision of subsidised services. The amount of co-payment is determined by the Private Dentists during enrolment. The recommended co-payment fee is HK$200.00.

Private Dentists may adjust the co-payment fee on an annual basis (the government will announce the details in due course). Such adjustment shall not take effect before the effective date announced by the Programme Office.

Private Dentists providing services in multiple registered service locations can determine different co-payment amount for each registered service location.

Private Dentist should develop a robust system for handling complaints failing under its purview and shall report to the Programme Office within 24 hours for any complaints of clinical incidents or professional misconduct. Please contact the programme office hotline at 2111 3830, or email to am3_cds@dh.gov.hk if outside of office hours.

All written complaints shall be acknowledged within 10 calendar days after receipt; and a substantive reply shall also be issued with 10 calendar days after receipt of the complaint. For complicated cases requiring longer processing time, the complainant should be kept informed of the progress of the case and the reasons as