Hong Kong social worker Mark Cheung Kai-yuen is working to make dental care more accessible for cancer survivors, people with disabilities and children with special needs who often struggle to find suitable clinics.
Through Smile Again, the social enterprise he co-founded with dentist Dr Ho Kwun-yin, Cheung has adapted both the facility and the way care is delivered, with wheelchair-friendly facilities, longer consultations and tailored communication approaches.
Cheung is a finalist for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post.
The dental service originally began with cancer survivors. Ho had encountered patients who received radiotherapy or major surgery for head-and-neck cancers, with some requiring complex reconstruction in hospital.