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No gap dental
Health funds with no gap dental let you see a dentist and pay zero out-of-pocket for check-ups, cleanings and more, but there are some conditions – compare your options below.
Dental checkups can be covered with extras insurance from less than $5 a week.
Most big health funds offer a way to get 1 or 2 dental checkups each with with no gap.
To get no gap dental checkups you need to visit a dentist your fund has a deal with.
Compare health funds with no gap dental cover
The table below compares policies from Finder partners that have a no gap dental offer. It's sorted by value using the Finder score algorithm our experts use for the Finder health insurance awards. Prices are for a single person earning less than $93,000 living in Sydney, with a $750 excess - learn why this matters here.
The Finder Score ranks every health policy in our database on value for money. We updated this monthly with data provided by Ombudsman.
We consider the 38 hospital treatment categories, plus the covered extras categories and the total extras benefit. We also use the average price for each product. Here's the breakdown of factors we consider.
Factors that affect your health insurance premiums
There are several factors that will change the price of your health insurance premiums, whether you get hospital or extras cover. Here are the main ones to consider.
Private Health Insurance Rebate: The price of your policy can vary by over 25% due to rebate. It's mainly based on your age and income.
Lifetime Health Cover Loading: If you don't have hospital cover after age 31, a 2% loading will be added to the price each year you don't have it.
State: The cost of medical care is different in every state, and that's reflected in your premiums.
Policy Excess: A policy with a larger excess will have lower premiums, but you will have more out of pocket costs when you claim.
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
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Comparing quotes from 30+ funds...
What is no gap dental?
No gap dental is a type of dental health cover where your insurer agrees to pay 100% of the cost for certain dental treatments if you use a dentist in their network.
The way most dental policies work is that your insurer will agree to pay a specific percentage of the cost toward treatments covered by your policy. For example, your policy might pay 60% toward dental work whether it's something simple like a cleaning or something more complex like a root canal.
You're responsible for the additional 40%, and this out-of-pocket expense is called your gap.
If your policy includes no gap dental, your 40% contribution will be waived - leaving you with nothing left to pay. But again, it's only for certain treatments and it's only available if you use a dentist in your insurer's network.
Which funds offer no gap dental schemes?
Most of Ausrtalia's big health funds offer 1 or 2 free dental checkups a year if you see a dentist in the fund's network. This includes funds such as Bupa, HCF, ahm, Medibank, HBF, nib and AIA.
Many smaller funds also offer no gap dental checkups, including Peoplecare, Teachers, Australian Unity, Defence, RT Health, TUH and more. Check the details of any policy you're considering to be sure what you can get.
What types of services are included in no gap dental?
No gap dental schemes focus on preventative procedures so that insurers don't have to shell out the big bucks for expensive procedures down the track.
No gap policies commonly cover the following preventative treatments:
Check-ups
Teeth cleaning
X-rays
Basic fillings
Fluoride treatments
Mouthguards
Even if your overall dental policy covers more complex treatments like root canals, crowns and implants, they won't be part of the no gap scheme and you'll have to pay the gap on those treatments.
How does no gap dental work?
To take advantage of your insurer's no gap dental benefit, you'll need mid-tier or comprehensive extras cover. You may also need to see a dentist within your health fund's partner network. Each insurer will have a similar set of guidelines, but they can differ in the details.
Generally speaking, here's how to avoid your dental gap:
You must use a dentist in your insurer's network. Your insurer can only offer this deal because they've negotiated a special rate with specific dentists. That means you have to see one of the dentists in this network or else you'll have to pay your gap.
The treatments must be covered by the no gap policy. Most insurers with no gap dental include a similar set of covered treatments, but there may be some minor differences. For example, not every insurer will cover mouthguards, x-rays and fillings as part of a no gap policy.
You can only claim a certain number of times per year. Most insurers will limit the number of times you can claim for certain treatments. For example, you might be limited to only 1 or 2 no gap check-ups and cleans per year.
What types of services are included in no gap dental?
No two no gap policies are the same, so you'll want to keep the following in mind:
Does it cover the services you need? Not every insurer will pay for all the same services. For example, some will cover mouth guards and others won't. Make sure it has the benefits you need.
Is there a participating dentist near you? To take advantage of your no gap policy, you need to visit a dentist who already has an arrangement with your insurer. A no gap policy won't do you any good if the nearest participating dentist is 200km away.
Is the benefit limit high enough? Your no gap dental cover will come with a benefit limit. The insurer will continue to pay the dentist for your covered treatments until you hit this limit, and you’re responsible for everything after that. So make sure your limits are high enough to cover what you’ll need throughout the year.
What if you need additional treatment?
If you need treatment above and beyond what's covered by your no gap policy, you'll still get the no gap treatments covered at 100%. However, you will have to pay the gap for the additional treatments or pay for the entire cost of those treatments if your policy doesn't cover them.
Let's say you visit an in-network dentist for a check-up and a clean, but during the visit, the dentist notices a cavity that can only be filled with a complex filling. Most no gap policies will cover the check-up and clean at 100%, but will not cover the complex filling.
You'll walk out of the dentist's office paying nothing for the check-up and clean, but you will have to pay something for the filling. If your policy covers complex fillings, you'll pay the gap after the insurer pays its share (often around 60%). If it doesn't cover complex fillings, you'll pay 100% for that treatment and that treatment alone.
How to get the most out of your no gap dental policy
No gap dental benefits can certainly make a dental policy more attractive, but it won't automatically make it the best health insurance policy for you. Before you choose a policy based on this feature alone, it pays to make sure it is right for you. Here's what to look out for:
Make sure there is a no gap dentist near you. You can usually search insurers' websites for a list of dentists in your insurer's network.
Look at what's covered. Not all no gap policies are created equal. If you have cavities, you might want to find one that covers fillings.
Understand how it affects your benefit limits. Some policies deduct no gap treatments from your benefit limits, while others don't.
How much does health insurance cost?
We ask hundreds of Australians what they're paying for health insurance every month. Here's what they told us in July 2024.
Basic: $99
Bronze: $141
Silver: $183
Gold: $221
Price based on 1,000+ responses for single hospital insurance.
Why you can trust Finder's health insurance experts
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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.
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 115 Finder guides across topics including:
Richard Laycock is Finder’s insights editor after spending the last five years writing and editing articles about insurance. His musings can be found across the web including on MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University and The Missouri School of Journalism and has a Tier 1 Certification in General Advice for Life Insurance. See full bio
If you want that perfect smile, you need to be aware of what your private health fund offers you.
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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.
