Wenyi Zhang
Research expert covering Greater China
Oral health and dental care in China - statistics & facts
Despite their potentially significant impact on everyone’s well-being, oral hygiene and dental care have traditionally been largely neglected subjects among much of the Chinese population. Most Chinese citizens lacked the habit of regular dental checkups or professional dental cleaning, while caries, periodontitis, and other dental conditions were widespread.
The most recent oral health epidemiological survey even revealed that, on average, each Chinese elderly aged 65 and above had nearly ten missing teeth, while the prevalence of calculus among people between 35 and 44 exceeded 96 percent. Fortunately, this challenge is now being addressed, with the number of patient visits to oral hospitals growing steadily in the last few years, thanks to rising household incomes and China’s recently improved statutory medical insurance coverage for oral and dental care.
Publicly listed companies such as Topchoice Medical and Arrail Group have expanded their operations through mergers and acquisitions of regional dental hospitals and clinics in major cities across the country, delivering standardized services of higher quality.
The enhanced awareness of oral health
As people in China have become increasingly mindful of their oral health, more are now willing to recognize their dental conditions and take proactive measures to tackle them. In comparison with the older generation, young people are more likely to pay more attention to their oral hygiene, while women tend to invest more money in dental and orthodontic procedures. The share of treatment expenses in the overall oral healthcare expenditure has also been expanding steadily, as visits to the dentists are now no longer limited to teeth cleaning, and more expensive services, including dental implant surgeries, are becoming increasingly popular.An era of opportunity
As people are now investing more in their dental hygiene, China's oral healthcare market is showing an encouraging trend. Private dental care providers are enjoying unprecedented growth in an era of opportunity. While the sector is still mostly composed of self-employed dentists and small businesses with a registered capital of less than one million yuan, chain dental clinics and oral hospitals managed by larger medical enterprises are gaining ground across the country.Publicly listed companies such as Topchoice Medical and Arrail Group have expanded their operations through mergers and acquisitions of regional dental hospitals and clinics in major cities across the country, delivering standardized services of higher quality.
