On March 27th, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will host the Asian Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Conference (ACOMS 2026), marking the second time the conference has been held in Hong Kong.
Who are all the people here? Internationally renowned experts in oral and maxillofacial surgery, as well as a dedicated exhibition segment for “young surgeons”. Simply put, it means giving young people the opportunity to meet industry leaders face-to-face.
There is a reason why academic conferences of this level are held in Hong Kong.
1、 Hong Kong Dental, being seen
ACOMS chose Hong Kong, officially stating that “Hong Kong plays an important role in the development of oral and maxillofacial surgery”.
The level of dental expertise in Hong Kong is recognized in Asia.
But this is just face saving. The demand for dentistry in Hong Kong is driving the entire industry forward.
Scroll through the news ahead.
From March 2nd to 11th, the Oral Health Promotion Department of the Department of Health held a “World Oral Health Day Exhibition” in the library for ten consecutive days, with the theme of teaching citizens how to brush their teeth, control sugar, and quit smoking. It looks like science popularization, but in fact, the government is funding public health.
Flip forward further.
Starting from January 1, 2026, the “Community Dental Support Program” has been expanded to include dental cleaning, root canal treatment, and denture implantation. Qualified individuals can get their teeth filled for 50 yuan, and seniors over 75 years old can get their teeth filled for free.
Why does the government do these things? Due to the high demand, the public system cannot withstand it.
There are 370 dental positions in the Department of Health, 110 of which are vacant. The vacancy rate is 27.6%, nearly nine times higher than five years ago.
The gap is not just for a while, it’s the kind that starts in ten years.
2、 Open the door while closing the mouth
What if there are not enough people? Walk on two legs.
First leg: Introducing non local trained dentists. As of the end of 2025, 19 people have been approved and have gone to the Department of Health and the University of Hong Kong respectively. The Department of Health has received over 90 applications for global recruitment and issued 12 job offers.
Second leg: Pull up local training places. The number of dental hygienists has increased from 95 to 220, and the number of dental undergraduates has increased from 50 to 90, an increase of 80%.
But ‘opening the door’ does not mean ‘releasing water’.
On March 13th and March 27th, there will be two final clinic license application briefing sessions specifically for private clinics practicing dentistry.
Starting from October 13, 2025, all clinics with registered dentists must obtain a license or exemption letter. Regulations are being tightened step by step. In the future, if you want to open a clinic in Hong Kong, you have to follow one rule after another.
3、 The window period is not as long as you think
Returning to the matter of preparing for exams.
At the ACOMS conference on March 27th, there will be a segment for young surgeons where newcomers will showcase their research findings.
These people may be mainland counterparts who entered through a licensing test a few years ago.
Perhaps I envy them for standing on that stage, but they have obtained that license.
I also went through the eight subjects in Part 1, practical grinding in Part 2, and clinical interviews in Part 3 step by step.
Today is March 10th, with 79 days left until the Part 1 written test on May 28th. On March 27th, the day ACOMS ended, there were only 60 days left until the written test.