Geographic distribution of private dentists in Hong Kong in 1989 and 1998

More than 80% of the dentists in Hong Kong ape in private practice and thir d party payment schemes are uncommon. Thus, most dentists have to work acco rding to the rules of a free market and have to respond to the demands of t he population. Using official data, it was found that the geographic distri bution of private dentists was highly uneven. In 1989, the dentist to popul ation ratio in the commercial districts was below 1:2,500 while in the new towns the ratio was larger than 1:20,000, There has been an improvement in the availability of dentists in the under-served areas during the past 10 y ears although there are still a considerable number of dentists practising in the areas on both sides of the Victoria Harbour.