Last updated: August 2026
The short answer: in most cases, nothing.
DVA states plainly that in most cases you will not need to pay for your dental treatment. But there is one exception that trips people up, and because it has an intimidating name — the Biennial Monetary Limit — veterans sometimes assume it applies to everything and delay treatment they could have had for free.
It does not apply to everything. Here is what it actually is.
The Biennial Monetary Limit (BML) is a cap that applies to certain high-cost dental items — DVA gives the example of some bridges and crowns.
DVA currently sets it at $5,980.30 across two calendar years, and the figure is indexed, meaning it moves over time.
If your high-cost items exceed that limit over the two-year period, you may need to make a co-payment on the excess.
This is the part worth internalising. The BML is aimed at high-cost items. It is not a cap on your dental care in general.
Routine care — check-ups, cleaning, preventive treatment, fillings, assessment of a problem — is not the target of the limit. Neither, in practice, is most of what a veteran walks in for.
If you have been avoiding a check-up because you thought you might be near some limit, that is almost certainly a misunderstanding worth clearing up.
DVA lists three situations where you are exempt from the BML and do not need to make any co-payment at all:
That middle one is significant and often overlooked. If the dental work relates to a condition DVA has already accepted as service-related, the cap does not apply to it.
DVA funds implants in defined circumstances with prior approval, and states you will not need to pay for approved dental implants if your provider accepts the Veteran Card for payment. The BML still applies.
The funded circumstances are two single tooth implants every two years where the tooth was lost within the past three years, two implants to attach a partial upper denture, or three implants to attach a full lower denture. Mini implants, block bone grafting and zygomatic implants are not funded, though exceptional circumstances can be assessed case by case.
The honest answer is that you should not have to manage this yourself. A practice that treats DVA patients regularly should:
If a practice cannot tell you where you stand before treatment, that is a reasonable thing to push on.
The pattern we see is veterans deferring care on a cost assumption that turns out to be wrong — and a small problem that would have been a filling becoming a crown, or a loose denture becoming a bite problem.
DVA also funds check-ups usually every six months, and where there is clinical need for more frequent visits, your dentist can request approval from DVA on your behalf.
Croydon skews older than many outer-eastern suburbs. ABS 2021 Census data records the suburb's population at 28,608 with a median age of 39, including 4.0% aged 75 to 79, 3.1% aged 80 to 84, and 3.3% aged 85 and over. Across the broader catchment of about 128,227 people spanning nine suburbs, an estimated 15 to 20% are 65 or older — the band where DVA cardholders are concentrated.
Divine Dental Care accepts both the Gold Card (Veteran Card – All Conditions) and the White Card (Veteran Card – Specific Conditions), and claims directly with DVA. We are at 59 Wicklow Ave, Croydon, near the station, open six days including Saturdays.
Phone (03) 9725 8040, mention your DVA card, and we will confirm your cover before anything is booked.
Related reading: what your Gold Card actually covers and DVA dentures, re-lines and replacements.
The Biennial Monetary Limit figure, exemptions and implant rules described here are drawn from the Department of Veterans' Affairs and were last checked on 8 August 2026. The BML is indexed and rules can change — confirm current details at dva.gov.au. This article is general information, not personal dental or financial advice.