Patient Info

Dental radiographs, or x-rays, allow us to see inside a tooth and beneath the gums to assess the health of the bone and supporting tissues that hold teeth in place. They provide a lot of information about the state of your mouth detecting problems such as:

• small subsurface cavities, faults with existing dental work

• initial signs of bone loss around your teeth (gum disease)

• abscess or cyst

Routine dental x-rays help us diagnose any early stages of disease that may not be possible to detect through visual examination alone. By managing the problem early we can stop disease progression, thus, providing better long term outcomes. The fees for x-rays are minor in comparison to the major dental work that may be needed if dental disease has progressed too far. Dental x-rays are safe and the amount of radiation exposed is extremely low.

One of the most commonly performed and most important procedures carried out by your dentist is the ‘scale and clean‘.  It is very different to the cleaning that you do at home.

Regular scale and clean is performed to remove plaque and tartar which builds up around and under the gum line of each tooth. Plaque consists of bacterial colonies, which release toxins that cause gum inflammation, and produce acid, which causes tooth decay. Few people will do a completely perfect job of daily plaque removal at home.

Having a scale and clean at the dentist will get the plaque out from all those nooks and crannies that you might be missing. Calculus, or tartar, is essentially hardened plaque which cannot be removed by brushing and flossing. It is porous and rough, and is the perfect haven for plaque to accumulate on.

How often you need a scale and clean depends on how thoroughly you brush and floss each day, how quickly you accumulate tartar, and how often you eat or drink stain-producing foods and beverages, and whether or not you are a smoker. We will tailor the frequency of your cleans to suit your individual needs.

We want to maintain high standard of practice and high level of care.

“Preferred Providers” are not chosen because of their dental ability. Rather, they are based on a financial agreement with the health fund.  Health funds are not concerned with the quality of treatment,  they are only concerned with securing shareholder profits through an increased number of patients.

Private Health Fund members pay the same premiums and should, therefore, get the same rebates regardless of their dental provider. We believe that it is not fair for patients who wish to exercise their freedom of choice to get lower rebates. If these patients are getting a lesser rebate they should be paying a lesser premium.

We believe that the best treatment decisions are made through consultation between patient and dentist, and without influence from the health fund. It is important to be comfortable with your dentist, and that you are always able to see the dentist YOU prefer to see, and to know that they are recommending the best dental treatment for you.

At Glenfern Dental, we send all our lab works to reputable local Melbourne laboratories who make high quality dental prosthesis and who deliver predictable and consistent results that we have come to trust as clinicians.

We expect payment on the day of treatment and, for your convenience, we accept cash, VISA, MasterCard, EFTPOS, and personal cheque.

HICAPS facility is available at our office to save you time claiming on your private health insurance. Please bring your private health insurance card with you to your appointment and we will be able to electronically process most health insurance claims. The gap payments can then be paid via EFTPOS in the same transaction or by other payment methods.

For children eligible for Child Dental Benefits Schedule, we bulk bill services including exam, scale and clean, x-rays, restorative and preventive procedures under Medicare. Please click on this link for more information.