Dental

Telephone

9747 7676

Fax

8746 2076 

Contact

Referral and Appointment Service, Dental Manager

Location

Melton Health 195-209 Barries Road, Melton West 3337

Service Description

The dental clinic comprises of twelve dental chairs and a purpose built laboratory for denture construction and is located at Melton Health. It caters for preschool and primary school children, eligible teenagers and eligible adults who require general treatment on natural teeth as well as denture care. The dental service also provides an emergency service for toothache and trauma to the mouth.

Ten of the twelve chairs are allocated to La Trobe University Dental Students for teaching purposes, and eligible patients will have the option of seeing a qualified dentist or a student dentist.

Access hours

Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 5.00pm

Referral process

Bookings can be made by self referral, and patients are advised to call 9747 7676.

Eligiblity

To access general dental, denture or specialist dental care through the public dental system, you need to be eligible.

The following people are eligible:

Children and young people: 

1. All children aged 0 – 12 years (general and denture care only for non-concession card holders)
2. Young people aged 13 – 17 years who are health care or pensioner concession card holders or dependents of concession card holders
3. All children and young people up to 18 years of age, who are in out-of-home care provided by the Children Youth and Families Division of the Department of Human Services
4. All youth justice clients in custodial care, up to 18 years of age:

• Adults aged 18 years and over, who are health care or pensioner concession card holders or dependents of concession card holders 
• All refugees and asylum seekers
• All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are treated at The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne

Examples of a Health Care Card and Pensioner Concession Card below:

Priority Access

If you are eligible for public dental services, you may also have priority access to public dental care. People who have priority access will be offered the next available appointment for general care and will not be placed on the general care wait list. Where you have denture care needs, you will be offered the next available appointment for denture care or placed on the priority denture list, where applicable.

The following groups have priority access to care:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (See more information about dental services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)
• Children (0-12 years) and young people (see information above)
• Homeless people and people at risk of homelessness
• Pregnant women
• Refugees and asylum seekers
• Registered clients of mental health and disability services, supported by a letter of recommendation from their case manager or staff of special developmental schools

If you meet any of the above criteria, tell the receptionist when you telephone to make an appointment that you may be eligible for ‘priority access’.

If you have children aged between 2 and 17 years and you don't hold a concession card.

They may still be able to get free dental care through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. Dental care for 2-17 year olds are eligible if they receive Family Tax Benefit A or other relevant Australian Government payments. Find out more about the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.

Free - Children (0-12 years), Youth (13 to 17 years), Priority groups

The following groups all receive free emergency dental care:

• Children and Youth 18 years and under who are eligible for the Child Dental Benefit Schedule
• Refugees and asylum seekers
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• All children and young people up to 18 years of age, who are in out-of-home care provided by the Children Youth and Families Division of the Department of Human Services
• All youth justice clients up to 18 years of age in custodial care
• Registered clients of mental health and disability services, supported by a letter of recommendation from their case manager or staff of special development schools
• Those receiving care from undergraduate students

Appointments for general dental care or denture care

When you call to make an appointment for general dental care or denture care, you will usually be placed on a waiting list.

• The length of the waiting list will be different at each community dental clinic.
• When your name reaches the top of the list, you will be offered an appointment.
• Waiting lists do not apply for groups listed under priority access.

Waiting times for dental care

Information on waiting times for dental care around Victoria is available from the Department of Health Victorian Health Services Performance website. http://performance.health.vic.gov.au/Home.aspx#Anchor. Average length of wait for public dental care state-wide Emergency care - 92.4% seen within 24 hours

Questions

Can I be on more than one waiting list?

• No, you can only be on the waiting list of one community dental clinic at a time.
• You can transfer to the waiting list of another clinic and there is no penalty for changing clinics.
• Your place on the waiting list you transferred to will show the date that you were placed on the original waiting list.

What do I do if my contact details change e.g. address, phone number?

If you are on a dental waiting list and your contact details have changed, please call the dental clinic where you are waiting to let them know, so they can update your details. This will make sure that we can contact you to arrange your appointment as soon as your name reaches the top of the list.

I need dentures. Will I be on the waiting list for general or denture care?

• If you have no natural teeth, you will be added to the denture waiting list.
• If you have natural teeth, you need to have general dental care first. You will be placed on the general waiting list and once you have completed general care, you will be placed on the denture waiting list. The date listed on the denture waiting list will be the original date when you were placed on the general waiting list.