Review the typical prices of dental treatments and compare them with the reimbursements of the funds you are considering
Dental Health Insurance
Half of all Australians claim for dental services through a health fund.
How do I choose the best dental health insurance policy for my needs?
Dental is an important part of any “extras” health insurance policy
Check whether your fund has contracted provider agreements
Don’t forget to weigh dental reimbursements against other benefits that suit your needs across hospital and extras cover
What are contracted provider agreements? Can I choose my preferred dentist?
- Health fund members can freely choose their preferred dentist, whether they are part of a contracted provider agreement or not
- In order to make dental services more affordable and transparent for members, many health funds have opened dental clinics or are working with certain dentists on pre-agreed terms
- With contracted provider agreements, patients know the cost of their procedures before coming to their health fund dentist
What are the benefits of contracted provider agreements? Why would I use my health fund’s preferred dentist?
Comparing the quality and prices of dental services is often difficult and time consuming for health fund members.
A health fund’s contracted provider agreements provide:
- transparent pricing before you see the dentist
- typically much lower charges due to better negotiation
- and great quality dental care with regular reviews of patient satisfaction of contracted dentists
How important is preventative dental healthcare?
- Prevention is important for your dental health and regular check-ups can help avoid more costly dental procedures
- Private health funds often encourage regular dental check-ups
- Some funds even offer free dental check-ups, often through their contracted dentists or in their dental clinics
- Make sure you use your preventative dental healthcare benefits every year
What are some of the common dental procedures in Australia and how much do they cost?
Typically, dental services in Australia are classified into two groups, which a member will see on their private health insurance policy as “General dental” or “Major dental”.
- General dental: This refers to annual check-ups, cleaning and fluoride treatment, minor fillings, simple tooth extractions, and in general, most types of preventative work.
- Major dental: As the name suggests, this includes major procedures such as complex fillings, surgical tooth extractions, root canals, crowns, dentures, bridges, gum disease treatment and orthodontics. The best dental insurance for major work will cover all these and more.
