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.
Why compare health insurance with Finder?
We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.
With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.
You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.
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
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
You'll pay the same price as going direct - we don't
charge fees
We don't ask for your phone number to see prices
Hang tight - we're fetching policies just for you!
Comparing quotes from 30+ funds...
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.
Why you can trust Finder's health insurance experts
You pay nothing. Finder is free to use. And you pay the same as going direct. No markups, no hidden fees.
You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching health insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.
Frequently asked questions
Without health insurance, tooth crowns may cost you from $1,000 to $2,000 or more, depending on your dentist.
Generally, dental work is not covered under Medicare in Australia, and that includes tooth crowns. To avoid paying for tooth crowns out-of-pocket, it's important to take out an extras policy that covers major dental. Compare health insurance policies that include tooth crowns from just $7 per week.
Sizing, producing and fitting the crown is a rather complex procedure. Here are the typical steps you'll go through:
The dentist will examine your teeth. Your dentist will look at your teeth to determine whether or not you need a crown. If there's not enough of your tooth left to support a crown, your dentist may add filling to your tooth until it's big enough.
The dentist will take a mould of the questionable tooth. Next, the dentist will make a mould of your tooth to use as a blueprint for your form-fitting crown.
You will choose your crown's material. You can usually choose between porcelain, a metal alloy or porcelain-fused-to-metal.
You may get a temporary restoration. It could take a couple of weeks for the dentist to get the crown back. If your teeth are in really bad shape, they may give you a temporary restoration to tide you over.
You'll come back for the crown. When the crown comes back, you'll return for your second appointment and your dentist will fit the crown onto your tooth.
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
Tim's expertise
Tim has written 116 Finder guides across topics including:
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
James's expertise
James has written 258 Finder guides across topics including:
If you want that perfect smile, you need to be aware of what your private health fund offers you.
Feedback
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
You pay nothing. Finder is free to use. And you pay the same as going direct. No markups, no hidden fees.
You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching health insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.
