What Does Denticare Mean For You?

It’s still early in the discussion of Denticare, and we’re going to keep doing the research and updating you on the implications of Denticare for your practice. And, let’s be clear here, we’re not engaging in the politics of whether or not this form of increasing access to dental care is a good idea. We’re simply analysing the situation and suggesting the apparent implications of Denticare to private dental practices in Australia.

The positive side of Denticare is that it is likely to lead to increased patient flow as more people who are delaying seeking treatment for financial reasons have those concerns alleviated. For those practices seeking to build up patient flow, this provides a valuable opportunity. And, for those of you in underserviced areas who are cringing at the thought of increased patient flow, the recommended internships for graduating dentists and oral health professionals are intended to increase the number of practitioners in regional and rural areas.

On the face of it, the biggest concern seems to arise from the fact that the increase in funding for dental services will be going to “prevention (such as scaling and cleaning of teeth), restoration (such as fillings), and the provision of dentures”[1], and does not include crown and bridge work, cosmetic or whitening procedures, or orthodontics. For these types of procedures, patients could still elect to have coverage through their private health insurers. It’s likely, then, that patients will start to request procedures covered by Denticare in preference to the comprehensive dentistry that may be in their long-term best interests (e.g. they’ll want large restorations rather than crowns because the former will be covered by Denticare but the latter would not).

The implications of this are that you will need to work hard on your verbal skills if it’s in the patient’s best interests to have procedures not covered by Denticare. You will need to be on the top of your game in building patient relationships, listening to patient’s real motivators and thoroughly exploring the implications for the patient’s life should they elect the best possible treatment rather than the free treatment. You will also need to have the ability to offer financial arrangements that will increase the patient’s ability to say “yes” to treatment that isn’t covered by Denticare.

In addition, you’ll need to keep strong control of your appointment system to deal with increased numbers of patients wanting procedures that don’t fill production pre-block requirements. How good are your team’s verbal skills for managing this situation? To avoid chaotic days, the team will need to be skilled at standing strong to maintain the integrity of the ideal day.

Further, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hans Zoellner (of the Association for the Promotion of Oral Health) expressed concern that Denticare may result in ‘‘stupid clinical decisions”, giving the example that, “depending on your root canal anatomy, Denticare would either provide full service to save a lower front tooth, or alternatively offer nothing but extraction.”[2] The concern is, then, that dentists will be pressured into making decisions based on considerations other than the best clinical result for the tooth and the patient. This may result in an increased burden on private dentists to justify particular clinical decisions.

It also seems that private practices are likely to have an increased administrative burden. Details of the process of claiming back on Denticare are not yet clear, but it seems likely that at least some increased paperwork will be necessary. This means that you will need to have your administrative systems functioning smoothly. Does everyone in the practice currently have admin time? If not, it should be in everyone’s schedule for half an hour each day. You’ll have to make decisions when details are clearer about how the additional administrative burden is to be distributed amongst the team.

A final (for now) consideration is the way human beings tend to value a service that’s free. On the one hand, more patients are likely to make appointments, especially into the hygiene department for their free scale and cleans. And they’re perhaps less likely to cancel for reasons caused by cash-flow problems on the day. On the other hand, though, people tend not value free services, which may actually lead to them being more likely to cancel. It’s possible that patients will start to conflate you with the government because you’re providing government-subsidised services, and to therefore treat your practice with less respect. Is this too pessimistic? It’s hard to say. On the face of it, at this stage, the safest approach is to ensure that you and your team are very good at building value through the debrief for return visits, and that the team’s verbal skills for handling cancellations are excellent.

Momentum is committed to keeping you updated with the likely effects of Denticare as the implications become clearer. If there’s an issue you’d like us to research further, or you disagree with our conclusions, please email Joanna Gray on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we’ll get straight onto it.