What a check-up and clean costs in Truganina

What you are paying for

Two different things happen at the appointment, and both are in the fee. The examination is the dentist checking each tooth for decay, measuring the gums, looking at old fillings for wear or leakage, and screening the soft tissues — cheeks, tongue, palate and throat — for anything that should not be there. The clean is the removal of hardened plaque above and below the gumline, which a toothbrush cannot shift, and a polish afterwards.

At the end you are told what was found and what, if anything, it means. If treatment is needed, it is quoted in writing before it begins.

What is charged separately

X-rays are not part of a routine visit here. They are taken where there is a clinical reason — decay suspected between the teeth, a problem below the gum that an eye cannot see, a tooth being planned for treatment — and your dentist explains why before anything is taken. When imaging is needed, the fees are published too: an OPG or a 3D scan is $119 for our own patients and a 3D CBCT scan is $229, with the full list on our X-rays & 3D imaging page.

If you are due for imaging anyway, the comprehensive first visit is usually the better value — it is open to existing patients as well as new ones, once in any 12-month period. The price guide sets out what it covers.

Anything found at the appointment — a filling, a deeper clean for gum disease, a tooth that needs attention — is a separate quote. Nothing proceeds until you have agreed to it.

Why two quotes can differ so much

People compare dental prices and find a wide spread, which is confusing when the words on the invoice look the same. The honest reasons:

• Whether X-rays are included — the single biggest difference between two quoted figures.
• How much cleaning the appointment allows for — a straightforward scale and polish is not the same appointment as treating gum disease, which takes longer and is sometimes staged over more than one visit.
• Whether a fluoride application is part of it.
• Whether it is a first visit or a recall — a first visit covers more ground, because there is no history to work from.

The practical move is to ask any practice for the fee in writing before the appointment, and to ask what is not included. A published fee list, like the one on our price guide, is there so you can do that comparison without ringing anybody.

What your health fund changes

If you hold extras cover, we claim it at the desk through HICAPS and you settle only the difference. What comes back depends on your fund, your level of cover and how much of your annual limit is left — which is why we check your entitlement before treatment rather than after, and why limits that reset in January are worth planning around.

Without cover, nothing changes about the fee: it is the same published figure, and interest-free payment options are available for larger treatment.

Children

Eligible children are bulk-billed under Medicare’s Child Dental Benefits Schedule, so there is nothing to pay on the day. Allura Dental is a CDBS-approved provider and an independent business, not affiliated with or operated by the Australian Government. Where there is no eligibility and no cover, a children’s check-up and clean is from $79 for ages 0 to 6 and from $129 for ages 7 to 15.

If something is wrong right now

A check-up is not the appointment for a painful tooth. A limited examination of one area of concern starts at $65, and an emergency appointment starts from $120, which covers the consultation, the diagnosis and two X-rays to find out exactly what is going on.