The school year is winding up, and the kids are well and truly ready for a break!  Sorry parents, but it’s not quite your turn yet!  Yes, believe it or not, it is that time of year to start thinking about the back to school checklist for 2022.  While the new uniforms, school shoes, book packs and lunch boxes (consider this your reminder to remember to dig it out of the school bag at the end of the term!) might be able to wait until January, NOW is the time to book the kids in for a school holiday dental visit, as the dental appointment books fill up!

Don’t forget the mouthguards!

Mouthguards are a super important item to add to the back to school agenda, with contact sports a danger zone for dental injury.  Compared to stock standard chemist mouthguards, custom made mouthguards, while more expensive, do offer greater protection to the roots of the teeth, which often bear the brunt of impact to the face during a head knock.  Your dentist is the best person to custom make a mouthguard for your children that will fit well and, importantly, actually get worn and stay in the mouth comfortably, protecting the teeth from injury.  It is also important to remember that mouthguards should always be worn during training, not just during matches, so it is worth getting it made ready for the pre-season.

Child Dental Benefits

If your family is currently in receipt of Family Tax Benefit, ask us about the eligibility of your children for FREE routine dental care.  Your child can get dental treatment under CDBS when:

• They are eligible for Medicare

• They are between 2 and 17 years old for at least 1 day that year

• You or they get an eligible payment at least once that year.

Medicare cover up to $1,013 over 2 calendar years for basic dental services under CDBS. The services covered include:

check-ups

x-rays

cleaning

fissure sealing

fillings

root canals

extractions

Coronavirus has caused massive back logs for all kinds of medical and allied health professionals, and dentists have not avoided the crunch.  Here at Clarence Dental, we have limited spaces left in December, and January is filling fast!  It may seem a little over the top to be booking 6 weeks in advance, but that is exactly what we are asking of our patients if they wish to avoid disappointment and ensure the family’s dental visits are ticked off the back to school list, as January 24 fast approaches.