To reduce the nation's high level of dental disease, China needs
at least 70,000 new dentists, said a Ministry of Health official
Tuesday.
Statistics from the Chinese Stomatological Association show that
around 97 percent of Chinese suffer dental problems such as decay
or gum disorders.
According to Li Hongshan, director of the Health Ministry
International Communication and Cooperation Center, the country has
about 60,000 registered dentists now but at least 70,000 more were
needed to guarantee one dentist for every 10,000 people.
He told the International Dental Federation 2006 annual meeting
in Shenzhen, in south China's Guangdong Province, that even with that number
of dentists the ratio was still far below international
standards.
Developed countries averaged one dentist for every 4,000 people
and in Japan and the United States each dentist had approximately
1,000 patients, Li said.
Although China was increasing research funding for dental care,
the nation still had a long way to go to improve dental health,
pointed out Fan Mingwen, head of the Stomatology College of Wuhuan
University. Fan said China needed to reinforce stomatology
education by introducing international expertise.
(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2006)