General Dental Health Insurance Background

Dental insurance in Australia

The table below shows a range of extras-only health insurance policies from our Online Partners offering general dental cover.

Group Manager, Research & Ratings
Editor-in-Chief
Fact checked

Instantly compare 13,000+ Canstar expert rated policies based on the inputs below


Sort results Sort By
down-arrow
  • Star Rating - lowest first
  • Star Rating - highest first
  • Cover for non PBS claim - unavailable first
  • Cover for non PBS claim - available first
  • Monthly premium (approx) - lowest first
  • Monthly premium (approx) - highest first

Showing 10 of 172 results

check Included
cross Not Included
dash Data not captured
padlock Restricted
clock Benefit limitation period
canstar-rating-icon Canstar rating

Unsure of a term in the above table? View glossary

The initial results in the table above are sorted by Star Rating (High-Low) , then Monthly premium (approx) (Low-High) , then Provider Name (Alphabetical) . Additional filters may have been applied, see top of table for details.

What is dental insurance?

The term “dental insurance” refers to health insurance that includes cover for dental treatment.

There are a few different types of dental cover that is offered in Australia, to cover the different types of treatments and procedures. Dental cover can be offered through an extras policy, as well as a hospital policy. That means you can be covered for dental treatments that occur outside a hospital, such as going to the dentist for a check-up or a filling, and inside a hospital, such as getting your wisdom teeth removed.

You can use the table on the top of this page to compare extras-only health insurance policies that offer general dental cover, which includes basic dental care such as dentist visits, fillings and hygiene services. For more involved dental treatment, you may need ‘major dental’ extras cover or hospital cover that specifies dental procedures. Change the filters on the table to explore the different types of cover.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dental Insurance

Medicare covers basic dental treatments for eligible children under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. Some adults, namely those who have a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, may be eligible for public dental services.

In general though, you are expected to pay for dental treatment yourself. If you have a health insurance policy that includes dental cover, your insurer could contribute towards the cost.

The treatments or services that are covered by dental insurance in Australia depend on the health insurance policy – and whether you are taking out insurance as part of extras cover or a hospital policy.

Extras dental insurance is usually divided between two main categories — ‘general’ cover and ‘major’ cover.

General cover is usually focused on the cost of routine dental treatments, such as check-ups, cleaning, filings, and x-rays. Major dental is designed for more complex (and often more expensive) dental procedures such as crowns, dentures and veneers. You can use the table at the top of this page to find extras policies that include general dental, and/or major dental work such as root canal therapy or braces.

Hospital policies can include cover for dental surgery done in a hospital. This could include procedures such as surgery to remove wisdom teeth or dental implant surgery.

For extras policies, insurers typically allow you to claim a percentage of the cost of your treatment or you may be entitled to a set amount.

In addition, extras cover typically comes with annual limits, which is the maximum amount of money you can claim for a particular service.

Insurers may also specify a combined annual limit which applies across a group of services, for example, a combined annual limit for general dental, major dental, physiotherapy and chiropractic.

Almost all health insurers have a lifetime limit for orthodontic benefits such as braces, according to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. This means that once you have claimed the maximum benefit, you won’t be able to claim further benefits during your lifetime.

A number of health funds offer 100% back on dental insurance for regular check-ups and other preventative services when you visit a dentist in the fund’s network. This is often known as ‘no gap dental’ as you will pay nothing out-of-pocket if you are eligible.

Preventative services typically include scale and clean, and fluoride treatment, while some health insurers may include x-rays.

It’s worth checking with the individual fund to see what is and isn’t included and what other terms and conditions apply to their dental insurance.

For example, no gap dental could be subject to annual limits. The fund may also have a cap on the number of check-ups you can claim 100% back on per year.

The waiting period is the amount of time you have to wait before you can make your first claim. Waiting periods will depend on your policy and provider.

As a guide, typical waiting periods under extras cover can be around two to six months for general dental, and 12 months or more for major dental procedures such as orthodontics.

For hospital policies, the maximum waiting period an insurer can set for dental surgery is two months though longer waiting periods may apply for pre-existing conditions.

From time to time health insurance providers may offer dental insurance with no waiting period as a promotion to attract new members.

Additionally, if you have already served a waiting period under one policy and switch to another insurer with the same or a lower level of cover, you will generally not have to re-serve the waiting period.

Invisalign uses clear, custom-fitted ‘aligners’ to help straighten teeth. Your health fund may classify Invisalign treatments as orthodontics under extras cover.

If this is the case, there may be a maximum amount of benefits you can claim for orthodontic treatment within a calendar year, as well as an overall lifetime limit for claims involving orthodontic procedures.

Latest in health insurance

Canstar Star Ratings and Awards

Looking for an award-winning product or to switch providers or brands? Canstar rates products based on price and features in our Star Ratings and Awards. Our expert Research team shares insights about which products offer 5-Star value and which providers offer outstanding value overall. We also reveal which providers have the most satisfied customers in our dedicated Customer Satisfaction Awards.

Health Insurance Star Ratings and Awards

About our finance experts

Nina Rinella, Editor-in-Chief

Nina Rinella
As Canstar’s Editor-in-Chief, Nina heads up a team of talented journalists committed to helping empower consumers to take greater control of their finances. Nina has written countless articles about finance and has been interviewed on finance topics by media organisations including The Australian, Realestate.com.au, Domain, the Herald Sun and the Sydney Morning Herald. Previously Nina founded her own agency where she provided content and communications support to clients around Australia for 8 years. She also spent four years as the PR Manager for American Express Australia, and has worked at a Brisbane communications agency where she supported dozens of clients, including Sunsuper and Suncorp. When she’s not dreaming up ways to put a fresh spin on finance, she’s taking her own advice by trying to pay her house off as quickly as possible and raising two money-savvy kids. Nina has a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English Literature from the University of Queensland. She’s also an experienced presenter, and has hosted numerous events and YouTube series. You can follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter and Canstar on Facebook. Meet the Canstar Editorial Team. Have a media enquiry, and interested in featuring Nina as a financial expert and commentator? Contact Canstar’s Media Team today.

Joshua Sale, Group Manager, Research & Ratings

Joshua Sale

As Canstar’s Ratings Manager, Josh Sale is responsible for the methodology and delivery of Canstar’s Health Insurance Star Ratings and Awards. With tertiary qualifications in economics and finance, Josh has worked behind the scenes for the last five years to develop Star Ratings and Awards that help connect consumers with the right product for them.

Josh is passionate about helping consumers get hands-on with their finances. Josh has been interviewed by media outlets such as the Australian Financial Reviewnews.com.au and Money Magazine.

You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on Twitter and Facebook.


Thanks for visiting Canstar, Australia’s biggest financial comparison site*

Important information

For those that love the detail

This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.

Canstar may earn a fee from its Online Partners for referrals from its website tables, and from sponsorship or promotion of certain products. Fees payable by product providers for referrals and sponsorship or promotion may vary between providers, website position, and revenue model. Sponsorship/promotion fees may be higher than referral fees. If a product is sponsored or promoted, it’s an ad and it is clearly marked as such. An ad might appear in different places on our website, such as in comparison tables and articles. Ads may be displayed in a fixed position in a table, regardless of the product's rating, price or other attributes. The location of an ad doesn’t indicate any ranking or rating by Canstar. Payment of fees for ads does not influence our Star Ratings. See How We Get Paid to find out more.

The Health Insurance Star Ratings were awarded in November 2023 and data in the table is current as at that date, updated from time to time to reflect product changes notified to us by product issuers. The results don’t include every provider in the market and we may not compare all features relevant to you. You can find a description of the initial sort order below the table. You can use the sort buttons at the top of each column to re-order the display. Learn more about our Health Insurance Star Rating Methodology. The rating shown is only one factor to take into account when considering products.

The products and Star Ratings in the table might not match your exact inputs in the selector. Sometimes the methodology uses profiles with categories or bands (e.g. income, loan amount or monthly spend), but sometimes a single methodology, without any categories or bands, is applied. The results will show the products that most closely match your selection, based on our profiles. If you are unsure about any terms used in the comparison table please refer to the glossary.

What is a Target Market Determination?

A Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) is a document that explains which people particular financial products may be suitable for (the target market) and sets out any conditions around how financial products can be distributed to consumers.

Why do product issuers provide Target Market Determinations?

From 5 October 2021, TMDs are compulsory for most financial products.

Issuers and distributors of financial products must take reasonable steps that are likely to result in financial products reaching consumers in the target market defined by the product issuer.

We recommend that you consider the TMD before making a purchase decision. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the TMD.

Any advice on this page is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this general advice is right for your personal circumstances. You may need advice from a qualified adviser. Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances. If you decide to apply for an insurance policy, you will deal directly with the provider, not with Canstar.  It’s important you check product information directly with the provider. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before making a purchase decision. For more information, read our Detailed Disclosure.

If you are seeking to replace an insurance policy, you should consider your personal circumstances, including continuing the existing cover until the replacement policy is issued and cover confirmed. Your current policy may have different features to products currently on the market. Please consider what features are right for you when comparing insurance products and refer to the provider for further details on a policy.

Companies listed in the table, or in ads, may use or be used by another company to arrange, issue, distribute or sell its insurance policies to customers. For more information on the issuer of the policy, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.

By clicking on the number next to the phone icon, you will leave the Canstar website and be connected with the call centre of the Online Partner’s brand that you have selected. You will be subject to that referral partner's brand privacy policy and terms of use. You agree that Canstar Referral Terms apply to this referral.