Payment options

Cost is one of the most common reasons dental treatment gets put off, and uncertainty about the bill is a large part of that. This page sets out every way you can pay here, what each one actually involves, and how to work out your own figure before you commit to anything.

The principle we work to: you get a written, itemised quote before any treatment begins, and nothing proceeds until you have agreed to it.

The options at a glance

That last row is the one people forget to ask about, and it is frequently the best answer. Where treatment is not urgent, doing the clinically important part now and the rest later usually beats borrowing to do it all at once. We will tell you honestly which parts of a plan can wait and which cannot.

Health fund claiming on the spot (HICAPS)

We have a HICAPS terminal on site. Bring your health fund card, swipe it at reception after your appointment, and the rebate is claimed immediately — you pay only the gap, the difference between our fee and what your fund contributes.

HICAPS works with most major Australian health funds. If your fund participates and your policy covers the item, the claim is processed in seconds and there is nothing to post, upload or follow up.

Quoting your cover before you commit. We can run a quote through the terminal to see what your fund will rebate for a specific item before you go ahead with it. It takes a moment and only needs your card. If you are weighing up a larger plan, this is worth doing at the consultation rather than guessing.

Forgot your card? Not a problem. Pay the account in full on the day and we will give you an itemised statement with the ADA item numbers on it. You claim directly with your fund afterwards.

Getting the most out of your cover

A few things that are true of most policies and are worth knowing:

• Annual limits reset. Most extras policies reset on 1 January. Where treatment is not urgent, splitting a larger plan across two calendar years can substantially reduce what you pay out of pocket, and we will tell you when that is worth considering
• Waiting periods apply to new policies and to upgrades, particularly for major dental
• Preventive care is often covered at a higher rate than restorative work, sometimes in full — which is an argument for keeping your recall appointments rather than skipping them
• Purely cosmetic treatment is commonly excluded. Whitening and veneers usually attract no rebate at all
• Annual limits are per person, not per family, on most policies

We cannot tell you which fund or policy to buy — that is financial advice and outside what a dental practice should be offering. We can tell you which item numbers a proposed treatment uses, so you can ring your fund and ask precisely the right question.

See private health insurance for more.

Afterpay

Treatment is paid in four instalments — the first on the day, the remaining three direct-debited fortnightly over about six weeks.

Afterpay charges no interest, and does charge a late fee if a scheduled payment is missed. Eligibility, your spending limit and the approval decision are Afterpay's, not ours. Read their current terms on Afterpay's own website before using it.

Full detail on our Afterpay page.

Zip

Zip is a consumer credit product, repaid over a longer period than Afterpay. Zip offers more than one account type and they work differently from each other. Terms, fees, interest-free periods, eligibility and the approval decision are all Zip's, and they change from time to time — read them on Zip's own site.

Full detail on our Zip page.

Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS)

Eligible children aged 0 to 17 can receive up to $1,158 in benefits over two calendar years for basic dental services under Medicare's Child Dental Benefits Schedule. The cap is indexed and changes, so confirm the current amount with Medicare, or ask us to check your child's remaining balance.

Eligibility is set by Medicare and administered by Centrelink, and depends on the family receiving a qualifying payment. Not all families are eligible. If yours is, you should receive a letter from Medicare.

What the schedule covers is basic dental services — examinations, radiographs, cleans, fluoride, fillings, extractions and root canal treatment. It does not cover orthodontics or cosmetic work, and it does not cover treatment provided in hospital.

How it works here: you pay your account in full on the day of the appointment, and we provide the statement you submit to Medicare to claim the rebate. Depending on your child's remaining entitlement and the treatment provided, there may be a small out-of-pocket amount. That is determined by Medicare, not by us.

See Medicare child dental benefits.

What your quote will show you

Before treatment begins you receive a written plan setting out:

• Each item of treatment, in the order it would be carried out
• The ADA item number for each — the code your fund uses, so you can check your rebate yourself
• The fee for each item
• Where we can establish it, the expected rebate and the gap you would pay
• Which parts are urgent and which can reasonably wait

You take it away. There is no pressure to decide at the appointment, and a second opinion from another appropriately qualified practitioner is a reasonable thing to seek on a larger plan.

If something is found mid-treatment that was not visible beforehand — decay deeper than it appeared, a crack under an old filling — we stop and discuss it with you before continuing. Nothing is added to the account without being agreed first.

If cost is the reason you are putting it off

Say so. It is one of the most common reasons people delay, it is not something to feel awkward about, and knowing the constraint changes what we can do for you.

In practice that usually means one or more of:

• Treating what is actively causing harm now, and scheduling the rest
• Sequencing across two calendar years so two annual limits apply
• Choosing a longer-lasting but more expensive option only where it genuinely earns the difference
• Being explicit about what happens if a given item is left — sometimes very little for now, sometimes a much bigger problem
• Referral to the public dental system where that is genuinely the better path for your circumstances

A plan you cannot afford to start is worth less than a plan you can.

Questions we are asked

Do I pay on the day? Yes, accounts are settled at the appointment. HICAPS reduces that to the gap where your fund covers the item.

Do you bulk bill? No. Eligible children may be covered under the CDBS as described above, and eligible concession card holders can access the Victorian public dental system, which is separate from this practice.

Is there a fee for paying by card? Our fees are the same whichever way you pay.

Can I get a quote before booking? For a specific item, yes — ring and ask. For a treatment plan, it needs an examination first, because quoting treatment nobody has looked at would not be honest.

Will you tell me if I do not need something? Yes. "Monitor it and do nothing for now" is a legitimate recommendation and we make it often.

What if I cannot pay for all of it? Tell us. See the section above — staging is nearly always possible.

Book your appointment

Victorian Dental Group — 291 Wattletree Road, Malvern East VIC 3145

Phone (03) 9088 5808 · Monday to Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm · closed weekends and public holidays

Book online at any hour, or read more about check-up and hygiene fees and what to book.

This page is general information about how payment works at this practice. It is not financial advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Health fund, Afterpay, Zip and Medicare terms are set by those organisations and should be confirmed with them. This page does not replace advice from a registered dental practitioner about your own circumstances. Please see our Disclaimer.