Dental insurance

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.

Major dental

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'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.

Great all-rounder: HBF - Flex 50

Flex 50

From

$9.14

/week

Extras only

From

$9.14

/week

Go to site

Read our HBF Health Limited review

Our verdict

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.

• Pros and cons

  • 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.

• Our methodology

  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.

  Read more about our health insurance methodology.

Great for the basics: Westfund - Starter Extras

Starter Extras

From

$5.92

/week

Extras only

From

$5.92

/week

Read review

Read our Westfund Limited review

Our verdict

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.

• Pros and cons

  • 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.

• Our methodology

  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.

  Read more about our health insurance methodology.

How much does dental cost?

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.

• Routine dental checkups
• Dental fillings
• Root canals
• Dental implants
• Tooth extractions

Is dental covered by Medicare in Australia?

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

You can check if your child is eligible on the Services Australia website.

Frequently asked questions

• What's the best insurance for dental?

  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.

• Why take out dental cover?

  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.

• What are the waiting periods for dental?

  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).

• How much does dental insurance cost in Australia?

  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.

• Are teeth covered by Medicare?

  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.

• Do you need dental insurance in Australia?

  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.

• When do annual dental benefits reset?

  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.

• How does dental insurance work for students?

  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.

• Will health insurance cover dentures?

  Some health insurance policies cover dentures, although you'll need a medium-to-comprehensive tier extras policy.

• Can emergency dental be covered by Medicare?

  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.

• Can I get dental insurance with no waiting period?

  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.

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 624 Finder guides across topics including:

• Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
• Managing the cost of living