CPD Points in Hong Kong: The Complete 2026 Guide for Dentists
Introduction
If you've been putting off thinking about CPD, 1 July 2026 is the date that changed things. For decades, continuing professional development for Hong Kong dentists was something you did because you cared about staying current — a good habit, not a legal one. That's no longer the case. With the Dental Council of Hong Kong's (DCHK) Mandatory CPD Programme now in effect, CPD has shifted from a personal choice to a professional obligation tied directly to your practising certificate. Many dentists are still getting their heads around what this actually means day to day — how points are counted, what qualifies, and what happens if a cycle doesn't go to plan. This guide walks through it in plain terms.
What Changed on 1 July 2026
Following the Dentists Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, the DCHK launched a Mandatory CPD Programme for all registered dentists in Hong Kong — whether you hold full, limited, or special registration. The key shift is simple but significant: fulfilling your CPD requirements is now a legal prerequisite for obtaining or renewing your practising certificate. CPD is no longer a professional nice-to-have. It's baked into your ability to keep practising.
How the Mandatory CPD Cycle Works
The programme runs on an annual cycle, from 1 July to 30 June the following year. The very first cycle under the new rules runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, so this is genuinely new territory for the whole profession — nobody has "always done it this way."
Within each cycle, the minimum requirement is 10 CPD points. Of those 10, at least 3 points must come specifically from Core CPD activities — meaning you can't fill your entire quota with general lectures or informal learning. A meaningful slice has to come from the categories the Council considers foundational to safe, ethical practice.
What Counts as Core CPD
The DCHK has defined 12 Core CPD categories. Activities falling into any of these count toward your mandatory 3-point minimum:
Infection control
Medical conditions in relation to dentistry and medical emergencies
Records and consent
Dental ethics and jurisprudence
Quality assurance, including complaint handling and risk management
Communication
Dental practice inspection
Legal and professional compliance
Dental and medical public health issues of local relevance
Occupational health and safety
Special needs dentistry, including geriatric dentistry
Radiology and radiography
One important detail: Core CPD activities must be organised by a DCHK-appointed CPD Programme Provider. Attending a course that covers one of these topics isn't automatically enough — it needs to come through a recognised provider to count as Core.
How CPD Points Are Calculated
Points are awarded based on actual hours of participation, excluding breaks and meals, and are accredited on a 0.5-point basis. In practice, that means the Council rounds your attendance time into half-point increments. A few worked examples make this clearer:
1 hour 14 minutes = 1 point
1 hour 15 minutes = 1.5 points
1 hour 40 minutes = 1.5 points
1 hour 45 minutes = 2 points
Courses can be delivered in-person, live-streamed online, or on-demand online. One nuance worth remembering: on-demand online content only counts toward your Core CPD requirement if it's delivered by a DCHK-appointed Provider. If you're watching a recorded lecture from an unaccredited source, it may still count toward your general 10-point total, but not toward the Core 3.
Choosing a CPD Programme Administrator
Every dentist needs to enrol with exactly one DCHK-appointed CPD Programme Administrator at a time — not multiple, and not none. The Council has appointed four Programme Administrators, including the Hong Kong Dental Association, the College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong, the Department of Health, and the Faculty of Dentistry at HKU. Alongside these, there's an Accreditation Panel and a network of 23 Programme Providers who actually deliver accredited activities. Your Administrator is essentially who tracks and verifies your points across the cycle, so it's worth picking one that fits how and where you already do most of your learning.
What Happens If You Fall Short
Life happens — illness, pregnancy, family emergencies, whatever it may be. If you don't think you'll hit your points by 30 June, you can apply to the Council for a determination, and applications need to be made by the end of March. Exceptions are considered case-by-case, so there's no blanket rule here — but the mechanism exists precisely for circumstances like prolonged illness or pregnancy. The takeaway: don't wait until June to flag a problem. Raise it early.
Specialists: A Separate Requirement
If you're a Fellow or non-Fellow Specialist under the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, there's an additional layer to be aware of. The College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong runs its own CME/CPD Programme, separate from the DCHK's general mandatory scheme. It operates on a 3-year cycle (the current one covers 2026–2028) and requires a minimum of 90 points — an average of 30 points per year. This is on top of, not instead of, your DCHK obligations, so specialists are effectively tracking two parallel requirements.
Finding CPD Activities
However you're enrolled and whatever mix of Core and general CPD you need, the practical challenge is usually the same: finding enough relevant, well-timed courses across the year. Find CPD-accredited events on DentalInfo, updated as they're announced.
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