Aussie kid cops $3K dental bill, child dental scheme won’t cover it

The $3000 dental bill an Aussie family was left to foot exposes a massive flaw in the federal government’s child dental scheme. WARNING: Graphic

Exclusive: Toddlers and children are being left toothless and in pain because the government’s child dental scheme won’t cover them if they need treatment in a hospital.

Kids are facing an agonising 18-month wait for treatment under state run public dental schemes and often end up having teeth pulled out rather than saved because of the delay.

Meanwhile millions of families are missing out on $1026 worth of free dental care for their kids every two years because they don’t know they are eligible for the government’s Child Dental Benefits Scheme as it is never advertised.

Just 42 per cent of the three million families eligible for the scheme accessed it last year, the Department of Health’s annual report reveals.

And if they do try to claim when their child has dental trauma it won’t cover the cost of hospital treatment.

The scheme, which covers families who received Family Tax Benefit Part A, is currently being reviewed by the federal health department and dentists are campaigning for it to be upgraded.

It runs alongside separate state-funded public dental schemes which cover all low income Australians.

Since the federal scheme began in January 2014, the government subsidy for dental care has increased by just $26 or 2.6 per cent while inflation has risen 14.8 per cent. If the rebate had kept up with inflation, it would now be worth $1148.

The child dental scheme has major flaws that need fixing. Picture Getty Images.

Paediatric dentist Dr Tim Keys said the federal scheme, which applies to 2-17 year olds, was so underfunded it only covered the cost of two annual check ups and not any treatment which were found necessary.

“If you just get a check up and clean every six months and X-rays taken once or twice over that period of time, the money’s gone. So the moment you need a single intervention you will not have enough money,” he said.

The biggest flaw in the scheme is its failure to cover dental treatment in a hospital.

“How do you take out four teeth out of a two-year-old in a dental chair?” Dr Keys asked.

“A four-year-old child is expected to sit in the chair, while we dive in with a couple of needles and pull their teeth or they sit in the chair for an hour while we drill their nerve to do a nerve treatment and then put a crown or a cap over the top.

“A lot of kids you can imagine can’t tolerate that so they need to go to sleep in hospital and the government doesn’t support it.”

The Australian Dental Association (ADA) wants the scheme expanded to cover hospital treatment, panoramic X-rays of the mouth, mouth guards and preventive silver diamine fluoride treatments and properly fitted mouth guards for sport.

ADA president Dr Eithne Irving said with only 40 per cent of eligible families using the scheme it was way under budget and the savings could be put toward expanding the treatments covered.

“A family shouldn’t be disadvantaged just because the oral health of the child is in a state where the only option is to do it under anaesthetic and to have $1026 available to you that you can’t use it’s unconscionable really,” Dr Irving said.

Dr Keys said extra funds should be made available to children who lose teeth in an accident and who require extensive care.

Last year, a government inquiry found the scheme was so poorly advertised families didn’t even know about it.

The inquiry said it should be expanded to cover dental treatment in hospital.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the Child Dental Scheme is a “proud Labor legacy” that had been neglected by the former government.

“I’m investigating ways with the Health Department to increase uptake and awareness of the Child Dental Scheme,” he said.

LILLY’S DENTAL DISASTER

Eight-year-old Lilly Surdo smashed out her two permanent front teeth, and several baby teeth in a scooter accident but couldn’t access $1026 in government funds to pay for treatment.

The Brisbane schoolgirl’s face was massively swollen and her aunt Martalie Surdo raced her to the public hospital — only to be told they could not restore her front teeth.

Lilly Surdo, 8, lost multiple teeth in a scooter accident but the treatment could not be funded from the government's Child Dental Benefits Scheme. Picture: Supplied

“They said they had just got to wait for her baby teeth to come down and they’ll do a bridge with fake front teeth. And that would be it. That’s all they told me,” said Ms Surdo.

The family contacted their private dentist who advised the front teeth could in fact be put back in and arranged for treatment under a general anaesthetic.

The Brisbane schoolgirl lost her teeth in a scooter accident. Picture: Lachie Millard

Ms Surdo, who is a teacher’s aid with three children and no private health cover, has so far spent more than $3000 and many more dental visits are required.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get anything of that on Medicare,” she said.

“My parents actually are the ones who told me that she gets about $1000 a year to use for dental but unfortunately I can’t use that because she went to hospital and got put under general anaesthetic.”

Martalie Surdo has forked out more than $3000 to cover her niece's dental bills. Picture: Lachie Millard

Paediatric dentist Dr Tim Keys said Lilly was a prime example of the failure of the Child Dental Scheme.

“She’s got $1000 in this scheme, but we couldn’t use a cent of it,” he said.

Dr Keys said he discounted his fees but they still had to pay for the hospital, the anaesthetists and the dental treatment.

Originally published as Aussie kid cops $3K dental bill, child dental scheme won’t cover it