Dental insurance can’t take away the pain of the dentist, but it can help with the pain of the cost.
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*Prices updated November 2024, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices reflect the cheapest available for a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
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You can get dental cover with extras insurance from $3 a week.
Dental cover encompasses four groups of cover: general dental, major dental, orthodontic and endodontic.
You typically need to wait 2 months before you can claim for general dental, and longer for more expensive treatments.
How does dental insurance work?
Dental insurance is available with extras health insurance, as opposed to hospital insurance. Extras is the cheaper version and covers out-of-hospital servicies not available through Medicare such as dental, optical and physio.
Some policies will pay a percentage of your bill, up to a certain amount, when you visit the dentist. Others will pay a set amount for specific services. It can cover you for:
General dental
Covers common procedures such as check-ups, teeth cleaning, fluoride treatments, X-rays and small fillings.
Covers more complex procedures such as crowns, bridgework, veneers and implants.
Orthodontics
Covers specialist dentistry for aligning teeth and jaws. Treatments include braces, plates and retainers.
What about dental surgery?
Whenever dental surgery is performed in a hospital – for example, dental implant surgery – it's not typically covered by extras. You'll need hospital insurance for this.
Tips for choosing dental cover
Our health insurance expert, Tim Bennett, has put together some tips on how to find the right dental cover for you.
Go to the health fund's agreement dentists
You're allowed to go to any qualified registered dentist but if you go to a provider that your insurer has an agreement with, you can usually get at least one free dental check-up per year. A bunch of insurers including Bupa, ahm and HBF let you do this.
Choose between dollar or percentage limits
Some policies will pay a percentage of your bill, up to a certain amount, when you visit the dentist. Others will pay a set amount for specific services. There's no 'best' option – it depends on what you need. For example, if you just want to use dental, the fixed-dollar limit may be a better option, but the percentage option could be good if you go to an expensive dentist.
Consider combined or flexi limits
A few insurers combine some or all categories of dental treatments under a single limit. For example, general dental, major dental and orthodontic may all have a single limit of $1400 a year. This can be helpful if you have any expensive treatments. Some insurers have flexi limits. You could use most or all of it on dental if you want to.
What's the best dental insurance in Australia?
You have better things to do that trawl through 400+ dental insurance plans. Honestly? We do too but we get paid for it, and we get a kick out of making boring stuff quick and easy.
The policies below won 2024 Finder Awards. They came out on top for value for money – meaning they give you more bang for your buck than the other 400+ policies we analysed.
Keep in mind, everyone's needs are different, so it's worth doing some research yourself to get cover that works for you.
This won Finder's Medium Extras cover award in 2023 and 2024. Flex 50 gives you $800 to split how you like across 12 popular services, including dental. You could use all of that $800 combined annual limit on dental if you like, or you could split it up – it's totally up to you.
Finder 2024 health insurer of the year.
Not-for-proft. Profits go back to members, not shareholders.
55.50% of extras treatments covered. One of the best out of 23 funds.
There are cheaper policies but you don't get as much.
Other insurers also offer flex options.
HBF Flex 50 was the winner of our Medium Extras category in the 2024 Finder Awards. It covered more treatments for less money than any other fund.
Consistently one of the cheapest dental insurance policies available. Westfund's Starter Extras option includes general dental cover and an optical benefit up to $180 per person. You can also choose how to spend $400 across a bunch of services including dental, optical, physio, chiro and more.
2024 Finder Award winner in the Core Extras category.
Excellent complaints record.
Not-for-profit.
There are some cheaper options.
This is a basic plan. There are more comprehensive plans.
Westfund Starter was the winner of our Core Extras category in the 2024 Finder Awards. It covered more treatments for less money than any other fund.
To help you get an idea of dental costs, we've put together a table of costs based on information from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian Dental Association, healthdirect.gov.au and more.
Sadly no. Medicare doesn't cover out of hospital services like dental in most circumstances. The only exception is the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. Some adults in certain states and territories are also eligible – we've outlined these below.
Child Dental Benefits Schedule
The Services Australia Child Dental Benefits Schedule does offer dental benefits to some children. To be eligible, your child must
Be eligible for Medicare
Be between 0 and 17 years old
Receive a payment from the Australian governmnet at least once a year
The following groups can receive free publicly funded emergency dental treatment in Queensland:
All children between age 4 and year 10 of secondary school.
Children outside of that range who have a concession card or are dependents of a concession card holder.
Children in the custody of the Director-General, Department of Communities or Child Safety and Disability Services.
Adults with a Pensioner Concession Card from the Department of Veterans' Affairs or Centrelink, a Health Care Card, a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card or a Queensland Seniors Card.
You must be a Queensland resident and you must receive your treatment in a public dental facility.
New South Wales
In New South Wales, emergency dental care is free for the following people:
All children under 18.
Any adult with a valid Centrelink concession card (plus anyone else listed on the card).
You must also have a valid Medicare Card and get your treatment at a New South Wales public dental clinic.
Australian Capital Territory
You are able to access dental services in the ACT if you hold a:
A Centrelink-issued Pension Concession or Health Care Card.
A Veteran's affairs card.
An ACT Services Access card.
Victoria
In Victoria, the following groups are eligible for free emergency dental care in a community health centre or public dental hospital:
All children up to the age of 12.
Children up to 18 who are eligible for the Child Dental Benefit Schedule, are in out-of-home care provided by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing or in custodial care.
Children up to 17 who have a valid concession card or are the dependent of someone with a concession card.
Refugees, asylum seekers, Indigenous Australians, Torres Strait Islanders and mental health patients.
Adults who have a valid Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card will receive emergency dental care in a community health centre or public dental hospital for $29.50. Everyone else can use the public facilities, but you'll be charged rates that are similar to what you'd find in a private facility.
Tasmania
The following groups are eligible for publicly funded dental treatment in Tasmania:
All children up to 18 years of age will receive free treatment.
Adults with a Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card will receive treatment for a small fee.
You must visit a public dental facility to be eligible.
South Australia
If you belong to one of the following groups, you are eligible for publicly funded dental treatment in South Australia:
Dental treatment is free for all babies and children not yet in school as well as school-aged children under 18 who have a Health Care Card, are members of the School Card Scheme or are dependents of someone with a Pensioner Concession Card.
All other children under 18 are eligible for dental treatment if they pay a small fee.
Adults with a Pensioner Concession Card or a Health Care Card are eligible for dental treatment if they pay a small fee.
Adult Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders with a Pensioner Concession Card or a Health Care Card are eligible for free emergency dental treatment.
You must have your treatment in a public facility.
Western Australia
The following groups are eligible for publicly funded emergency treatment in Western Australia:
All children 4 and under.
Children 5-16 who are in school.
People 17+ who hold a Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card.
You must receive your treatment in a public dental facility. If you live in a rural community and don't have access to a public clinic, you can use a private clinic but you will have to pay full price for treatment.
Northern Territory
You can access free public dental services in the Northern Territory if you meet one of the following:
You're under 18 years old, as long you haven't finished school and don't work full time.
You have a Centrelink Pensioner or Health Care Card.
You're a remote resident in need of emergency dental care and don't have access to private care.
You're part of the Australian Government's cleft lip and cleft palate scheme.
You're more than 100km from your nearest health service.
Frequently asked questions
The best dental insurance depends on your needs. Westfund - Starter Extras, HBF - Flex 50 and Latrobe Health Services - Core Complete Extras Package won Finder Awards this year. There are also lots of policies that come with flexible limits so you can use most or all of it on dental. Some insurers, such as ahm, also have no waiting period options.
Oral health is really important to your overall health and wellbeing, so dental care isn't something you should neglect. Poor oral health can exacerbate existing health conditions and is associated with a number of chronic diseases.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 32% of Australians over 15 years old have untreated decay. On average, we spend $253 on dental services per year. Health insurance can help reduce those costs.
You will usually have a 2-month waiting period for general dental (this includes basic services such as a check-up and fillings). Usually you need to wait 12 months for orthodontics and major dental procedures done (e.g. crowns or bridges).
Cheap dental insurance starts at $3 a week. This will typically cover you for a couple of routine check-ups a year including common procedures such as teeth cleaning and X-rays. Major dental policies start at around $7 a week while endodontics and orthodontics cost around $9 a week. However, you may still have some out of pocket expenses.
Unfortunately, Medicare doesn't cover most dental work. There are some exceptions to this – for example, some children are eligible through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) and adults who hold a Health Care Card or Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and cannot afford medically necessary treatment can be entitled to free dental.
You aren't legally required to have dental cover in Australia but without it, treatment can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Routine check-ups at the dentist alone can add up to over and above what you might pay for dental insurance. To make sure you get the most out of your cover, make sure you compare your provider options and get cover with benefits you'll actually use.
Like all extras, the annual benefit for dental treatments reset each year. Depending on your fund, your limits with either reset on January 1, July 1 or your policy anniversary date. See the list of all extras benefit reset dates here.
Unfortunately, there's no real difference if you're a student. In some cases, your dentist may give a concession discount for dental work but you'll still be out of pocket.
If your dental work is considered life-threatening or extremely complex, you may be treated in a hospital and covered by Medicare. However, this doesn't apply to most dental work and may also incur a fee.
It depends on what kind of dental work you need done and whether or not it's done at the dentist or in a hospital. General dental work like cleans, check ups and minor fillings are covered under extras health insurance and ahm is the only health insurer to cover general dental without a waiting period. For all other major dental and orthodontics work, a waiting period will apply. Likewise with dental work that requires a hospital visit - this will also carry a waiting period.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Joelle Grubb as part of our fact-checking process.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
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Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
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