The most important time to start this process is when a young child makes their first visit to the dentist.

At McKinnon Dental Care, we strongly believe in prevention and empowering parents with useful information which will greatly benefit the child’s dental and overall development.

However, we understand that sometimes a dental practice may be a daunting place for a young child, which is why we make every effort to make your child at ease when they come to us. Our practice is very kids friendly with toys, No Cavity Club, Certificate of Bravery, gift bags, and most importantly, dentist and staff who are patient, caring and know how to communicate with your children! As your child’s dentist, we feel that we also have the responsibility to encourage your child to develop a life-long habit to look after their teeth.

We perform more children’s dentistry in our group than most general dental practices in Melbourne. Our dentists offer comprehensive treatment for children, to ensure that they minimize the need to come back to have the same tooth fixed repeatedly. We use stainless steel caps which is the most durable way in a lot of situations for protecting baby teeth.

At McKinnon Dental Care, our dentists do not only examine your child’s teeth, also having done extra courses in the ENT area, they check children’s lips, tongue and airways as well to ensure that there are no airway obstructions, tongue tie or mouth breathing problems. A nice and clear airway ensures your children are getting a good night’s sleep and developing their full potential.

Call us on 03 9957 5199 to book your children for a check-up and clean today!

The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) is a scheme run by Medicare that provides eligible children up to $1,000 over 2 calendar years to pay for a range of dental services. It’s for at families who are already receiving other benefits, such as Family Tax Benefit A payments.

If your child is eligible, the CDBS will cover dental services including check-ups, routine cleaning, repairing cracked teeth, fillings and root canals. It doesn’t cover orthodontic treatment (such as braces to straighten crooked teeth), any dental work that needs to be done in hospital, or cosmetic dental procedures (such as replacing missing teeth).

Who is eligible?

The CDBS is for children aged 0 to 17 who are eligible for Medicare and who also receive at least one of the following benefits:

• Family Tax Benefit Part A
• Carer Payment
• Disability Support Pension
• Parenting Payment
• Special Benefit
• Youth Allowance
• help under the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme (VCES) if the child is 16 to 17 years
• help under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme if the child is 16 to 17 years

Terms & Conditions

Our clinic offers bulk billed dental treatment for eligible children under the Australian Government’s Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), subject to Medicare eligibility and available benefits. Following a dental examination, treatment will be recommended based on your child’s individual clinical needs. While many services can be fully bulk billed, some complex or elective procedures—including wisdom teeth surgery, orthodontic extractions, selected pulpotomies, and other treatments that are not fully covered by CDBS—may incur an out-of-pocket fee. If any additional costs apply, they will be discussed with you and your consent obtained before treatment proceeds.