07 Aug Is Your Child Missing Out on Free Dental Care?
Here’s What You Need to Know:
- What is it?
The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) is a government-funded program that provides up to $1,132 over two years for basic dental care. - Who’s eligible?
Children aged 0 to 17 in families receiving Family Tax Benefit A (or other eligible payments) are likely eligible.
What’s included?
✅ Dental check-ups
✅ X-rays
✅ Cleaning
✅ Fissure sealing
✅ Fillings
✅ Root canals
✅ Tooth extractions
What’s NOT covered?
❌ Orthodontics (e.g., braces)
❌ Cosmetic dental work
Why aren’t people using it?
- Many parents are unaware of it, unsure if they qualify, or mistakenly believe it doesn’t cover common treatments.
- How do I check if we qualify?
Contact Medicare, visit Services Australia, or ask your family dentist — eligibility is easy to check.
Free dental scheme underused despite high eligibility
With a massive underuse of a free dental scheme for kids, which sees 1.5 million children a year missing out, dentists are calling on the Government to put an end to misinformation surrounding the program and better promote it to parents.
Released today ahead of Dental Health Week (4–10 August), new data from an Australian Dental Association (ADA) survey of 25,000 adults shows that 29% – or around one in four parents – believe their child is eligible for free dental treatment under the Government’s Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS).
Just one in three eligible families is using it
Yet only 36%, or around one in three families who are eligible for the free treatment, actually use it. Meanwhile, the ADA survey has found the scheme is shrouded in confusion and misinformation, with many parents unaware of its existence or unsure of their eligibility, leaving millions of young mouths at risk.
In real terms, this dramatic under-utilisation rate means that of the 2,595,862 children who were eligible for the CDBS in 2020–2021, just 1,003,838 children used its services. That leaves around 1.59 million children going without the free dental care that’s rightfully theirs.
ADA: Lack of awareness costing families money
“This leaves millions of eligible Australian families either going without dental care or paying more out of pocket than they need to, when it could so well fund a child’s first dental visit,” said ADA President Dr Chris Sanzaro.
“It’s a scheme that’s shrouded in mystery and confusion – and with over 1.5 million Australian kids missing out, the Government urgently needs to promote it better to ensure eligible families can access this care.”
Who is eligible and what’s included?
For eligible families – typically those receiving Family Tax Benefit A – the CDBS provides up to $1,132 over a two-year period for essential dental services. These include examinations, x-rays, cleaning, fissure sealing, fillings, root canals and extractions for children from newborn to 17 years of age.
Common myths and misunderstandings
Of those who believed they were eligible, only 56% had used the scheme for their children, while 38% said they hadn’t. Many parents said they didn’t access the CDBS because it doesn’t cover orthodontics, which is commonly needed in childhood, and some were under the mistaken belief that neither restorative nor cosmetic dental care was included.
Call for stronger Government promotion
The ADA warns that the scheme remains poorly publicised and its details are not easily understood by the public – a problem that can be fixed with better Government-led awareness efforts.
Main Image: ADA
