If you’ve looked for a no-gap dentist, you’ve probably found a few. We’re not one of them. We’d rather tell you here than have you find out at the front desk.
We do still claim with most health funds. We do it on the spot with HICAPS, so you only pay the difference on the day. What we haven’t done is sign a deal with a fund that sets our prices in advance.
A no-gap deal is a contract between a dental practice and a health fund.
The practice agrees to charge the fund’s set price for a set list of treatments. In return, the fund puts that practice on its preferred list. For some of those treatments, members pay little or nothing.
It’s a fair way to run a practice, and there are good dentists who work this way. It does mean the fund has a say in the price, in the list of treatments, and in how often some of them can be claimed.
We’d rather work out how long your visit needs to be, then be straight with you about what it costs. Agreeing to a price first and then fitting the visit around it felt backwards to us.
Some visits are quick. A look, a clean, a chat, done. Others take longer, because you have questions, or because it’s been a few years and there’s a lot to go through. We didn’t want to have to cut that short.
And not everything on the list is right for every person. We’d rather sit down with you, show you what we can see, explain your options, write the costs down, and let you choose.
Funds add practices to those lists and drop them again. If you picked us because a fund put us on a list, we could lose you the year that list changed. You’d be starting again with someone who doesn’t know your history. We’d rather you stayed because the care suits you.
It means you’ll usually pay a gap here. We’re not going to dress that up.
How much depends on your fund, your level of extras cover, how much of your yearly limit you have left, and what the treatment is. So we can’t give you a number in the abstract.
We can often narrow it down before you book, though. Ask us on the phone or at the desk. We can usually look up the price and the item number, and your fund can tell you what it pays back on it.
And for anything more than a check-up, you get a written estimate before we start.
There’s a quicker way to find out, and most people don’t know it exists.
Our HICAPS terminal can run a quote. We put in the item numbers for the treatment we’ve suggested, swipe your health fund card, and it comes back with what your fund will pay on each one. You get to see the gap on the spot, before you agree to anything.
It’s an estimate based on your cover on the day, so the figure can move if your limits change or if the treatment plan changes. But it turns a vague worry about cost into a real number you can think about.
Ask for one at any point. Take it home, sit with it, talk it over. Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Treatment suitability varies and will be assessed by your clinician. Fees and options are discussed before treatment begins.
Tell us. It isn’t an awkward conversation for us, and you won’t be the first person to have it this week.
There’s usually more room to move than people expect. We can spread treatment over months instead of doing it all at once. We can do the urgent thing first and keep an eye on the rest. There are payment plans through Zip Pay and Humm, and terms and conditions apply to both. Our team can talk you through them.
What we won’t do is talk you into something before you understand it.
Feel better about asking what it costs.
No judgement. No pressure. Just dentistry you can understand.
Most likely, yes. HICAPS covers the majority of Australian health funds and we claim on the spot. Being on a fund’s preferred list is a separate contract, and not one we have. It doesn’t change your right to claim your rebate with us. If you’re not sure yours is covered, ask us before you book.
That depends on your policy and the treatment. Ask us before you book. We can usually look up the price and the item number, and your fund can tell you what it pays back. For anything more than a check-up, you get a written estimate before we begin.
Yes. Ask for a HICAPS quote. We put the item numbers into the terminal, swipe your fund card, and it shows what your fund will pay on each one, so you can see the gap before you decide. It’s an estimate based on your cover on the day, and the figure can move if your limits or your treatment plan change. You’re welcome to take it home and think about it.
Sometimes. If you’ve got good preventive extras and you haven’t used up your yearly limit, a check-up and clean is sometimes covered in full. It depends on your policy, so we won’t promise it. We’ll just tell you the price so you can check.
For some treatments and some policies, yes. Your out-of-pocket cost will be lower at a practice with a fund contract, and that’s a fair thing to weigh up.
What the gap pays for here is time. Time to listen before we look. Time to explain what we’ve found in words that make sense, and to go through your options properly instead of handing you a plan. Time for you to ask the second and third question, and to go away and think before you decide. That’s the practice we’ve chosen to run, and our fees follow from it.
Whether that’s worth a gap to you is genuinely your call. We’d just rather you made it with the real numbers in front of you, which is what the HICAPS quote is for.
