A straight answer on what Medicare funds, what it does not, and which pathway applies to you.
Medicare does not cover routine dental care for adults in Australia. There is no Medicare rebate for an adult check-up, clean, filling, crown or denture, at this practice or any other. It is worth saying plainly, because a lot of people ring around Croydon looking for something that does not exist.
What does exist are four separate pathways, and one of them probably applies to you. This page sets out each one honestly, including the one we cannot provide.
| Who you are | What funds your dental care | Can we help? |
|---|---|---|
| Child aged 0 to 17 in an eligible family | Medicare, via the Child Dental Benefits Schedule | Yes, we bulk bill |
| Veteran with a DVA card | Department of Veterans' Affairs | Yes, we claim directly |
| Adult with a concession card | Victorian public dental, state funded | No, see below for where to go |
| Everyone else | Private health extras, or self funded | Yes, preferred provider |
This is the one genuinely Medicare-funded dental program, and it is for children only.
The Child Dental Benefits Schedule covers eligible children aged 0 to 17 for check-ups, X-rays, cleaning, fissure sealing, fillings, root canals and extractions. The cap is $1,158 where the child's two-year period began in 2026, or $1,132 where it began in 2025, and it runs across two consecutive calendar years.
Eligibility rests on the family receiving a qualifying payment, most commonly Family Tax Benefit Part A, at least once in the calendar year. Orthodontic work, cosmetic work and any dental treatment in a hospital are not covered.
Divine Dental Care is a registered CDBS provider and bulk bills eligible children, so there is nothing to pay on the day. The full detail, including which cap applies to your child and how to check your balance, is on our CDBS dentist in Croydon page.
DVA dental is funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, not by Medicare. It is a separate scheme with separate rules, and people often conflate the two.
If you hold a Gold Card, now officially the Veteran Card for All Conditions, or a White Card, now the Veteran Card for Specific Conditions, and you have an assessed clinical need, DVA funds your dental care. In most cases there is nothing for you to pay.
We accept both card types and claim directly with DVA, so there is no paperwork for you to lodge. Details, including the Biennial Monetary Limit and the rules on dentures and implants, are on our DVA dentist in Croydon page.
This is the pathway we cannot provide, so here is where to go instead.
Public dental care in Victoria is state funded, not Medicare funded. It is delivered through the Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne and more than 40 community health services and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.
| Care type, adults 18 and over | Fee |
|---|---|
| General course of care | $32 per visit, capped at $128 |
| Emergency course of care | $32 flat |
| Dentures | $77.50 each, capped at $155 for full upper and lower |
Fees are waived entirely for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, refugees and asylum seekers, concession card holders aged 0 to 17, and anyone assessed as experiencing financial hardship. Providers of public dental care cannot refuse to treat someone because they are unable to pay.
The trade-off is waiting time. Priority access goes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, children and young people, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, pregnant people, refugees and asylum seekers, and people registered with mental health or disability services who have a letter of recommendation. Everyone else goes on a waiting list.
If that pathway suits you better than private care, contact your nearest community health service or the Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne directly. We would rather point you to it than have you assume private treatment is the only option.
For adults who are not concession card holders and not DVA cardholders, extras cover is the main way to reduce dental costs.
We are preferred providers for Medibank Private, BUPA, HCF, nib, CBHS, Defence Health and others, which means a higher rebate and a lower gap than at a non-preferred practice. We claim on the spot through HICAPS, so you pay only the difference on the day rather than claiming back later.
Our private health insurance page lists the funds we are preferred providers for. If you are choosing a policy, the annual extras limit and any waiting periods matter more than the headline premium.
A small number of oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures performed in a hospital can attract Medicare Benefits Schedule items where they are clinically necessary. These are specialist procedures arranged by referral rather than general dental treatment, and they are not something a general practice provides. If that pathway applies to you, your dentist or GP will refer you.
ABS 2021 Census data for Croydon (Vic.) records 28,608 residents with a median age of 39 and a median weekly household income of $1,615, across 7,785 families. That is a suburb where a good number of households sit in the band that qualifies for Family Tax Benefit Part A, and therefore for the CDBS, without necessarily realising it.
Croydon also has 1,868 children aged 0 to 4, at 6.5% above the Victorian average of 5.8%, and a substantial older cohort where DVA entitlements become relevant. Between those two schemes, a meaningful share of local families have access to funded dental care that goes unused.
We see patients from Croydon, Croydon North, Croydon Hills, Croydon South, Mooroolbark, Kilsyth, Ringwood, Ringwood East and Bayswater.
If you are not sure which pathway fits your situation, call (03) 9725 8040 and ask. We will tell you which scheme you fall under, including when the answer is that you would be better off at a public clinic. We are at 59 Wicklow Ave, Croydon VIC 3136, open six days a week including Saturdays, or you can book online.
CDBS figures on this page are drawn from Services Australia and Victorian public dental eligibility and fees from the Victorian Department of Health, both last checked on 9 August 2026. Fees and program rules are indexed and can change. Confirm current details at servicesaustralia.gov.au and health.vic.gov.au, or with our team. This page is general information, not personal dental advice.
Our friendly team at Divine Dental Care is here to help you achieve the healthy, confident smile you deserve.