If you are new to the area and are searching for a dentist in and around Sydney, you may have come across the phrase ‘no gaps dental treatment’ or ‘no gaps dentistry’ but what exactly does it mean?
First thoughts – particularly if you aren’t familiar with this type of terminology – is to scratch your head and say, “isn’t that what all dental treatment strives to do?” – Deliver a healthy, happy ‘gapless’ smile.
Of course, that’s true! However, in this case, …it’s not exactly what we mean.
So what is no gaps dental treatment and how can it benefit you?
The rising cost of dental care
Let’s face it, dental treatment in Australia doesn’t come cheap when compared to other countries. Yet reports suggest that for those who can afford routine dental healthcare, they experience lower costs when they need treatment – and perhaps more importantly – better overall health.
On the contrary, too many Australians see a routine visit to the dentist as a luxury they can’t afford. As a result, many are forced to seek pain relief from emergency departments adding even more pressure on those services.
So what does no gap mean?
No gaps dental in Sydney provides a way that patients can get the routine treatment they need at an affordable price. Here’s how it works…
Most private health insurance providers offer what is known as ‘extras.’
Extras are a collection of discount vouchers for various treatments that you receive when you purchase your health cover. These include optical, physiotherapy, chiropractic and of course, dental. An example would be say…’60% off your dental bill’
Normally, this is the one area of your insurance cover where you could be certain of getting your money’s worth – or so you might think!
However, there’s a catch – There’s always a catch, right?
In 2018 alone, reports suggest that insurance providers paid out $4.6 billion in healthcare refunds and 53% of those refunds – a little over half – were paid out to dental patients. It stands to reason however that an insurer’s business model is to be able to take more in premiums than they hand out in claims.
Therefore more often than not, while a provider might state that a policy holder can claim back say – ‘$600 per year on dental treatments’ – what they don’t tell you – or rather, they do but in very small print – is that there are often ‘per visit’ limitations.
What this means is that if a policy is limited is say $60 per visit, then you’re going to need to visit the dentist 10 times in a year to claim all that you are entitled to.
This being the case, let’s just say that you go for a regular dental check-up – the cost of which is around $200 on average in Sydney NSW. It’s unlikely that your policy will allow you to cover the entire cost in one claim. So now what you find is a definitive gap between the overall cost of your treatment and the amount the insurer will cover. This can be quite a considerable amount.
So what is no gaps dental treatment?
Bridging the gap
Because of the huge variation in prices of dental treatment across Australia, many policies have caps on the cost amount you can claim. Popular treatments include dental examinations, X-rays, fluoride treatment, fillings, scaling, and cleaning. As stated above, these treatments can leave you with a ‘gap’ amount to pay.
Clinics operating a no gaps dental policy cover this gap amount ensuring that as a patient, you won’t have to pay any ‘out of pocket’ expenses for specific dental treatments you receive. And of course, you also won’t receive any nasty surprises when you realise just how much extra you really need to pay.
So what does a No Gaps dental clinic in Sydney mean for patients?
In essence, having a no gaps clinic makes it easier and more affordable for people to receive many of the preventative treatments they need, thus avoiding the difficult – and not to mention costly – issues of undergoing extensive restorative dentistry later on down the line.
So now, when someone asks you the question “What is no gap health insurance?” you can happily talk them through how the procedure works and the benefits you gain – all while sounding like an expert in the process.
Here at No Gaps Dental, we strive to provide a solid foundation for lifelong dental health. We ensure that every person with valid health cover doesn’t have to pay a gap fee for a variety of treatments. These include dental examinations, scaling and cleaning, dental x-rays and fluoride treatments. Ensure you and your family remain on a path to affordable, quality dental care when you need it, by contacting us on 02 8007 6727 or visiting our website today.