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What is the Child Dental Benefits Schedule?

What is the Child Dental Benefits Schedule?

by | Apr 5, 2017 | Blog

The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (referred to as CDBS) is an Australian Department of Human Services initiative. The CDBS operates through Medicare and allows children and teenagers access to basic dental services via dental practices bulk billing.

Note: The CDBS considers youth aged between two to seventeen as ‘children’ under this scheme, and will be referred to as such throughout this article.
Here are the fast facts about the CDBS:

Fast Facts – Child Dental Benefit Scheme (CDBS)
What? Australian Government Medicare initiative.
Why? To allow all Australian children access to dental services.
How? Claimed through Medicare.
When? Available as soon as the child turns 2.
Claim amount? $1000 over 2 consecutive years.
Eligibility?
  • Child aged between 2-17.
  • Be eligible for Medicare.
  • Be part of a family receiving Australian Government payments.

Eligibility

Eligibility for the CDBS includes three criteria.

1st criterion: the child must be between two and seventeen years old. Eligibility for this criterion starts from the first day the child turns two.

2nd criterion: eligible for Medicare. All Australian citizens and permanent residents qualify for Medicare. If your baby was born in Australia and you used the Newborn Child Declaration as proof of birth then they are automatically enrolled in Medicare. If not, you can easily enrol them online, visit Australian Human Services – Medicare Card to find out how.

3rd criterion: The child themselves or their parent, carer or guardian must be receiving a Government payment. For example, if you receive Family Tax Benefit part A or Parenting Payment, then this criterion is satisfied for your child. For a comprehensive list of the Government payments, which count towards the third criterion of the CDBS, visit the Department of Human Services CDBS site and click on the eligibility section.

Dental services included under CDBS

The CDBS provides $1000 to cover most dental services over two consecutive years per child. This means every eligible child can use services up to the cap amount of $1000. If there is money left over from the first year, it carries through to the second year, trying to prevent money from going to waste. However, every year your child must meet the eligibility criteria, to gain access to the next $1000. The two-year period to use the cap amount begins when the child first receives an eligible dental service.

The dental services covered by the CDBS include:

What is the Child Dental Benefits Schedule?Examinations

X-rays

Cleaning

Fissure sealing

Fillings

Root canals

Extractions, and

Partial dentures

However, the CDBS does not cover:

Orthodontic

Cosmetic dental work

Dental services provided in hospital

How to utilise CDBS

  1. Attend a dentist that bulk bills. This way you don’t even need to submit a claim form as the dental practice will be able to electronically claim your benefit.

    or

  2. If you attend a dental provider who doesn’t bulk bill, then you will need to pay the account and claim your benefit by completing a Medicare claim form.

    Note: You can’t claim a benefit under the CDBS and from private health insurance for the same dental service.

    For any questions regarding how Proactive Dental acknowledges the CDBS, please don’t hesitate to call. We can explain how making CDBS claims at our practice works and what is involved.

For your child’s next check-up and any dental services, contact Proactive Dental on 0754 331 569 or make a booking online.