Tooth crown health insurance

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.

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

• How much are tooth crowns without insurance?

  Without health insurance, tooth crowns may cost you from $1,000 to $2,000 or more, depending on your dentist.

• Are tooth crowns covered by Medicare?

  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.

• What happens during the tooth crown procedure?

  Sizing, producing and fitting the crown is a rather complex procedure. Here are the typical steps you'll go through:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. You will choose your crown's material. You can usually choose between porcelain, a metal alloy or porcelain-fused-to-metal.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Written by

Tim Bennett

Insurance expert

A seasoned journalist with over 10 years of experience in news, politics and finance reporting, Tim has previously held roles at the ABC, SBS and Fairfax Media. Tim’s expert insights have been quoted in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. He regularly appears on TV and radio, and has been interviewed on 7 News, Sunrise, SBS News, ABC Local, 3AW and 5AA. Tim is passionate about simplifying complex insurance topics for Australian consumers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) from Macquarie University and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). If you’re interested in a media interview with Tim, please reach out to our PR team at aupr@finder.com. 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, Insurance News, 7NEWS and The Guardian. An experienced journalist, James' work has featured in publications including The Irish Times, Companies100 and In Business. 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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