The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) is a service provided by the Australian government under the Medicare system, which allows children to receive dental treatments they may not be able to afford otherwise.

Under the CDBS, the Australian government pays for specified dental services provided to young patients. This is done in an attempt to make pediatric dental health care more accessible to children across the country

This article provides answers to three questions that a parent may have about the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.

What Are The Eligibility Requirements For The CDBS?

Children are considered to be eligible for the CBS program once they're two years old up to the time the child will turn eighteen. Eligibility for the CDBS is reviewed on an annual basis.

In addition to the age requirements, eligible children must be eligible for Medicare. They must also be part of an Australian family that receives certain government payments (for which the child is eligible). These include disability support pension, youth allowance, double orphan pension, or a family tax benefit.

Children who've been assessed as eligible for the CDBS maintain this status for the entire calendar year of their eligibility. This is regardless of whether the child turns eighteen or (s) he stops receiving the mentioned government payments within the year of eligibility.  Newly eligible children are identified via routine checks carried out throughout the year by the Department of Human Services.

Which Dental Services Are Covered Under The CDBS?

The CDBS provides cover for basic dental services. These services include dental examinations, restorative dental services (e.g. filling of teeth), sealing of fissures, X-ray services, and the installation of partial dentures among others.

Services covered under the CDBS program are considered to be "clinically relevant". Clinical relevance is a term used to mean that the service is considered necessary to treat a child's dental problem(s). Cosmetic dental procedures are not considered to have clinical relevance. As such, the CDBS program will not pay for a child to get whiter teeth and so on.

What Is Bulk Billing Under The CDBS Program?

Bulk billing refers to an accepted mode of payment under the CDBS program. The CDBS assigns benefits to different dental procedures. Parents who choose to be bulk-billed transfer these benefits to the dental health practitioner who offers dental service. The practitioner accepts the mentioned benefits as full payment for service provision.

The advantage of bulk-billing under the CDBS is that there are no out-of-pocket charges for dental services provided to a child.

For more information, contact a clinic like Dentology Dental Care.

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