Child Dental Benefits Schedule
West Pennant Hills Dental participates in the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS). The CDBS is a government initiative to improve the dental health of school aged children. If your child is between the age of 0 and 17 they may be eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule if you receive Family Tax Benefit A or Family Tax Benefit B. The CDBS covers up to $1095 of dental treatment every 2 years. It can be used for treatment such as cleaning, fillings, x-rays, extractions and root canal treatment. We can help you check if your children are eligible, and find out your remaining balance.
Children should have their first dental visit as soon as they have teeth so we can check to see the baseline condition of the tooth. It is important for children to experience relaxed and fun appointments at the dentist to build up a positive association. If a child does not experience any dental treatment until they have a toothache, it can increase the chance of having an ongoing fear of dentistry.
Although baby teeth do fall out and will get replaced with adult teeth, they are just as important to keep healthy. Decay in baby teeth can lead to pain, missing out on school or other activities, abscesses and even cellulitis or sepsis needing hospitalisation. Also, children with higher levels of decay in baby teeth, tend to end up with more decay in their adult teeth.
A dental visit every 6 months is the average time for adults and children depending on the decay risk of the patient. The CDBS allows for check up and cleans every 5 months so the appointments do not need to be exactly 6 months apart.
For children who are eligible, once a year we will request the parent or guardian to sign a permission form for their child to participate in the child dental benefit scheme. This typically happens on the first visit of the year.
Contact us today to check your child’s eligibility for bulk billed dental care.