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Tooth crown health insurance

Tooth crown services are covered under major dental in a private extras policy. Compare your options from just $7 per week.

Who is this cover for?

Key takeaways

  • The cost of tooth crowns without private extras insurance can range from $1,000 to $2,000 or more.
  • Tooth crowns are covered under major dental in extras policies from $7 per week.
  • Major dental coverage generally comes with a 12 month waiting period.

What is a tooth crown?

A crown is a fitted cap placed over an entire tooth, for reasons including:

  • To protect a broken or cracked tooth.
  • To protect a vulnerable tooth from decay.
  • To serve as support on either side of a false tooth.
  • To cover up a dental implant or discoloured tooth.
  • To protect teeth that have undergone root canal.

Most crowns are made from porcelain, metal (such as gold alloy) or porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM), which is a combination of porcelain fused to a metal base. Your dentist will attach it to the tooth using a special type of dental cement.

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How much does a tooth crown cost?

A single crown can cost anywhere from $1,000 to more than $2,000 due to the complex nature of sizing, crafting and fitting the crown.

The price is also affected by the material you choose for your crown. Crowns made of 100% porcelain or 100% gold alloy cost more than those made of porcelain-fused-to-metal.

If you are more budget conscious, you may want to consider a crown made of porcelain-fused-to-metal.

How is a tooth crown covered by insurance?

Dental work is covered under private extras insurance, which helps pay for non-hospital services like dental, optical and physio.

However, not just any extras policy will do! You'll need a mid- to top-tier policy which covers Major Dental, which includes tooth crowns. This will come with a 12-month waiting period.

The good news is, the waiting periods for more minor treatments like check-ups and cleans will be much shorter, usually only two months. Some insurers will waive shorter waiting periods to attract your business. This gives you quick access to preventative treatment as you sit out your waiting periods for major dental.

Are tooth crowns covered by Medicare?

It's extremely unlikely that Medicare will pay for your crown. In some cases, Medicare will cover dental work if it forms part of a treatment that is typically covered (for example, you break your jaw and they need to remove a tooth to fit your jaw back into place). However, a crown wouldn't usually fit into such a scenario.

The one big exception are kids who receive a Service Australia benefit, or whose parents do. Services Australia will pitch in up to $1,095 every 2 years under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. This goes to a range of dental treatments, which can include crowns.

Most states also have their own public dental scheme and will offer free or discounted emergency dental treatment to pensioners and other concession card holders. However, most people will need private health insurance if they want to be covered for tooth crowns.

Frequently asked questions

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Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio

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James Martin was the insurance editor at Finder. He has written on a range of insurance and finance topics for over 7 years. James often shares his insurance expertise as a media spokesperson and has appeared on Prime 7 News, WIN News, Insurance News, 7NEWS and The Guardian. He holds a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, both of which meet the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

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