Frequently Asked Questions

You don’t need to apply or register for CDBS. If your child is eligible Medicare will send you a letter.

Your child can get CDBS when all of the following applies:

• they’re eligible for Medicare
• they’re between 0 and 17 years old for at least one day that calendar year
• you or they get an eligible payment at least once that calendar year.

You can be either the child’s:

• parent or guardian
• approved care organisation.

You can also contact Medicare on 132 011 or check your Medicare online account.

We check eligibility on a government website called PRODA, we do not get any information about why you are not eligible. If you believe you should be eligible, please call Medicare as it can often be fixed easily, let us know it has been fixed and we can check eligibility again for your child.

If your child is not eligible for treatment under the CDBS, The Smiles Dentacre will contact you. We offer the same services for a capped rate of $69 .If your child needs fissure sealants it will be $99. If you have private health cover, we can claim directly from the health fund and simply pay the gap IF there is one. Maintaining your child’s oral hygiene is important to us.

We use Tyro Health which is reasonably new and not all health funds have joined yet. Members of the following private Health Insurers are currently able to use Tyro Health to process claims: Medibank, Bupa, NIB, AAMI, Apia, AHM, Suncorp, St Luke’s Health, Frank, GMHBA, GU Health, Qantas, Healthcare Insurance (HCI), Police Health, Emergency Services Health & Nurses midwives health.

Tyro Health are in the process of adding new health funds so if yours isn’t supported yet, it may be next time we visit. In the meanwhile, we can send you a Tyro Health link for the $69 capped rate for the services and send you an invoice after the visit that you can use to claim back directly through your private health fund.

We process the claim at the full rate of the services and then discount the GAP making it NO GAP Dental.

Please ensure your child is covered for dental or you will be charged $69.

The Smiles Dentacre provides preventative services such as a comprehensive oral examination, clean to remove built up plaque and calcium application. Fissure sealants if your child is school aged and needs them. Your dental report and invoice will be emailed to you. A dental gift pack will be left at the centre on the day of the visit for you to collect. 

The services provided are conveniently carried out at your Centre making it easy for you to access this program and make your child’s dental experience positive and comfortable in a familiar environment having their educators and friends close by as support.

You are more than welcome to make an appointment to drop into the centre during our visit. We send out texts and call to make an appointment if your consent form indicates your child does not attend on the day. We generally make appointments between 9am – 10.30am. Earlier or later appointments can be made depending on the situation, please get in touch if you require an appointment.

Our team specialises in working with children of all ages and all needs. We do our best to provide all services with the child feeling comfortable and establishing a positive experience for the child seeing a dentist. If this is not possible, we do not go ahead, or only provide some of the services or a limited examination to introduce the child to a positive dental experience.

After the visit we process refunds for children who were away or scared. Partial refunds are made to those who only had limited services. We will email a remittance if an email is provided.

You can register your child by either completing a consent form online on our website or you can complete a manual consent form which would have been sent home through your child’s school or childcare centre. We will always send you an SMS confirming eligibility, please get in contact with us if you do not hear back from us. Please ensure we have your mobile and email to contact you if required so your child does not miss out on the service.

A full dental report is emailed out to you with in 3 days after the visit. Please ensure you have given us your correct email address. You can text your email to 0433 944 083. The dental report will outline your child’s oral health and if they require further treatment. You can request a call if you require further explanation of your child’s report as we understand not everyone understand dental terminology. A local dentist can provide further treatment if required, as only preventative service can be provided in the childcare centre environment. If you are entitled to CDBS please ensure the dentist, you see will access the CDBS.

It is recommended everyone including children see a dentist every 6 months. Most of our centres book in every 6 -12 months. We notify all families when we are returning to your child’s centre.

Your personal information is used and stored according to the Privacy Act. You can request the information at any time.

Parents should be helping their child with brushing until they are at least 7 years old. If your child is struggling to comply with brushing, there are many things you can do to encourage brushing. Make it a game, let them choose their own cool toothbrush, use toothpaste they enjoy the flavour of, have a song or timer they brush to, you should be brushing for 2 minutes.

Establishing healthy habits from early childhood is extremely important. Get in touch if you need help.

The following protocols are in place to ensure we provide our services safely:

• All our team members are fully vaccinated and trained in infection control.
• All our team members follow personal protective equipment protocols as advised by the Australian Dental Association. These include washing hands, hand sanitisation, wearing masks, gloves, and protective eyewear.
• All treatment areas are disinfected before and after each child.

We use single use disposable diagnostic instruments where possible and/or fully sterile instruments for each child sterilised according to the current infection control guidelines.