Making the most of your dental cover

When it comes to our health and wellbeing, most people know what they should prioritise: exercise, a balanced diet, less alcohol and no smoking. But there’s an essential piece of the wellness puzzle that often gets overlooked until it’s too late—the health of our teeth and gums. 

People don’t always connect the dots between oral health and general health, says Dr Antony Benedetto, a clinical dentist and Chair of the Clinical Advisory Committee and Director for National Dental Care, an Australian Unity partner.  

Good oral health, he explains, can reduce the risk of some of our most prevalent health conditions, like heart disease and diabetes. It’s why Antony believes it’s time to flip the script on how we think about dental care—and make our comprehensive private health insurance cover work as hard as our teeth do. 

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” explains Antony. “Your extras dental cover isn’t just about fixing problems—it’s about preventing them. And prevention in dental care can mean preventing other health issues down the track.”

Making the most of your dental extras 

When it comes to dental health, being proactive beats being reactive every time. Regular six-monthly check-ups might seem unnecessary when you’re not experiencing any pain, but they’re your first line of defence against major dental dramas. 

“The biggest thing is preventive care,” stresses Antony. “If you’re going every six months for your dental health check-up and clean, you’re catching things early. A small filling now versus a root canal later—we’re talking hundreds versus thousands of dollars.”

While policies vary, Australian Unity health insurance extras policies cover dental visits, including examinations, scale and cleans, and fluoride treatments. In addition, most of the policies also offer a No Gap Dental service, providing members with eligible cover preventative dental treatment at no out-of-pocket cost (up to your yearly limit depending on the policy). 

But here’s something many Australians don’t realise: your dentist can help maximise your insurance benefits. By understanding your policy limits and strategically planning treatments, you can make your coverage work harder. 

“Talk to your dentist about what needs doing and when,” advises Antony. “I always assess what’s urgent and what has to be done now.” He then identifies things that can wait. “I might take a look and go ‘okay, it would be really nice to get a crown on this tooth, but let’s not do it until the end of the year’.” This ensures that if something urgent comes up, a patient still has health fund benefits in reserve. 

“If we get to October or November, and nothing else has gone wrong, then we can go ahead and fix the tooth properly.”  

A strategic approach to dental planning might involve: 

• Scheduling routine cleans in January and July to maximise preventive benefits.
• Timing major work for later in the year if it can wait. 
• Splitting extensive treatment across two benefit periods, if possible. 

This approach ensures urgent needs are prioritised while helping you make the most of your dental cover. Spacing out treatments within your annual limits also means you’re not leaving benefits unused or paying out-of-pocket unnecessarily.

Preventing other health conditions through good dental health 

Dental health isn’t just about teeth—it’s connected to your overall Real Wellbeing. Gum disease has been linked to heart disease, diabetes complications and other serious health conditions. By maintaining regular dental visits, you're investing in more than just a winning smile.

“A big one I’m seeing more of is reflux, which means acid is getting into the mouth,” says Antony. “As soon as a patient opens their mouth, I can see very quickly if it’s a highly acidic environment.”

While you might not even realise it’s happening, stomach acid can silently destroy tooth enamel. “When I see that, I often refer the patient to a gastroenterologist or get them to talk to their GP to make sure that they don’t have a pre-cancerous condition.”

Another hidden danger lurks in your medicine cabinet. People with excellent oral hygiene and healthy diets can suddenly develop multiple cavities after starting new medications.

“People don’t realise they can have really good oral hygiene and a good diet their whole life, then they start taking medication, and suddenly they get a dry mouth and need 10 fillings,” explains Antony. “If we don’t pick that up early, it can be catastrophic.”

In more than 20 years of clinical dental practice, Antony has seen firsthand the impact medications can have on oral health. “I’ve had patients who’ve missed a couple of check-ups come in maybe 18 months or two years later, and I’m like, ‘What happened?’. They’ve gone from being okay to a complete mess. And it’s from taking medication—they’ve got dry mouth.”

Antony stresses that regular professional cleaning is important, even for the most diligent brushers and flossers. “Even people with a good diet and good oral hygiene get that build-up of calculus and tartar on their teeth, and you really need to get that cleaned off professionally.” 

The stakes are higher for today’s older Australians, who are keeping their natural teeth longer than previous generations. “A lot of people, especially older people, have more complicated mouths these days. They’ve got fillings, bridges, maybe implants—there’s lots going on, and it pays to keep an eye on that stuff.” 

Don’t wait to seek professional help 

Whatever you do, don’t wait too long before seeking professional care. “If you’re waiting for when it hurts, then you’re often looking at root canal therapy or extraction or something bad,” warns Antony. “If you can pick it up early, it’s much more likely to be a simple intervention, maybe a filling, or maybe even something as simple as cleaning the area a little better.” 

Your dental extras cover isn’t just for emergencies—it’s a tool for maintaining long-term oral and general health. By working with your dentist to plan treatments, understanding your policy limits and prioritising prevention, you can extract maximum value from your health insurance policy. 

“This is the real benefit of private health insurance coverage,” says Antony. “It can help with the preventative side and encourage you to come in regularly. I know that the more often I see people, the less work I tend to do.”