It was established in 1982 and is the first and only institution in Hong Kong to provide undergraduate and postgraduate dental degrees.

[6] Graduates from the faculty are allowed to be directly registered as dentists with the Dental Council of Hong Kong without needing to take a licensing exam.

Graduates from this programme are allowed to directly register with the Dental Council of Hong Kong as a dentist without needing to take a licensing exam.

[8][9][10][6] The faculty offers a number of master's degree for students looking to specialise in certain dental specialities.

A clinic is operated by the faculty, the "HKU Institute for Advanced Dentistry", a multi-specialty dental practice established under The University of Hong Kong.