History of dentistry in Hong Kong MEDICAL HISTORY

The early years In traditional Chinese medicine, the mouth is regarded as a mirror of the general systemic health of the body. Diseases of the soft tissues of the oral cavity were treated by medical practitioners, whereas teeth caus-ing pain were extracted in the market place by tooth removers—the predecessors of dentists. After Hong Kong became a British Crown colony in 1842 and with the subsequent establishment of the City of Victoria, traders soon flocked to Hong Kong. The population grew rapidly to about 33 000 in the 1850s.1 More and more foreigners moved to Hong Kong such that by the 1870s, there were over 1 000 resident foreigners. Attracted by the local popu-lation’s dental demands, Dr Herbert Poate, who ha