Under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), we cap dental services at $1,132 over 2 consecutive calendar years. The cap amount is indexed yearly on 1 January.
The 2-year cap period starts when a child or teenager first gets an eligible dental service.
Dental services covered by the CDBS include:
- examinations
- x-rays
- cleaning
- fissure sealing
- fillings
- root canals
- extractions
- partial dentures.
The CDBS doesn’t cover orthodontic, cosmetic dental work or dental services provided in hospital.
There are some restrictions for dental services. These are in the Guide to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website.
To be eligible for the CDBS, your patient must be all of the following:
- Aged 0 to 17 years for at least one day of the calendar year.
- Eligible for Medicare on the day of service.
- Get, or be part of a family getting certain Australian Government payments.
We assess eligibility at the beginning of each calendar year and it’s valid for the entire year. Children who become eligible later in the calendar year will have their eligibility backdated. It will begin from 1 January of that calendar year.
Before you provide any services, check your patient’s eligibility and balance. You can do this through Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) or by calling us.
You can print and display a self-print poster to promote the CDBS in your practice.
Print and display this self-print poster - Child Dental Benefits Schedule.
You can direct your patients to our website for more information about the Child Dental Benefits Schedule or print this for them. Our customise and print package allows you to tailor information to your patient. You can select what you want to include and it will tell your patient where they can find more information.