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Brisbane Dental Hospital: Where to Get Free Dental Treatment

In this article you will find a detailed explanation at Queensland Health Oral Health Centres and Brisbane Dental Hospital for kids and families.

What is the Brisbane Dental Hospital?

The old Brisbane Dental Hospital is located in Herston, and is classified as a state heritage building (the beautiful building you see in the main photo). The building represented far more than somewhere to get that pesky hole in your tooth filled; it represented the development of public dental services in Queensland.

The Brisbane Dental Hospital relocated in 2017 to the University of Queensland campus at 288 Herston Road. It is now known as the Oral Health Centre and is still an important part of the public health scheme for Queensland. The scheme that was initiated in the 1930’s continues to provide public dental services to this day.

The UQ Oral Health Centre provides free dental care to eligible Queensland resident adults, children and adolescents. These public dental services are offered through mobile dental clinics, school dental clinics and community dental clinics. You can find a list of participating Queensland Health oral health facilities on the Queensland Health website.

What services does the UQ Oral Health Centre offer?

Like the former Brisbane Dental Hospital, the UQ Oral Health Centre and other Queensland Health Oral Health Facilities cater for all of your general dental needs. This includes dental therapy and hygiene for all ages, general and emergency dental services, denture or prosthesis manufacture, maintenance and adjustment.

They also offer specialist oral services, including oral surgery, endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics and paedodontics (eligibility and category criteria apply for these services).

In the UQ Oral Health Centre they also teach and train students undertaking dental studies. They partake in patient education and training and also hold community education programs.

What services are in place to help families?

We already know how expensive general life is – factor in the cost of a trip to the dentist and I’m sure you might feel the slight urge to faint.

The public dental services in Queensland, including the UQ Oral Health Centre in Herston, are funded by government and provide free dental treatment to those who are eligible.

The Commonwealth provides assistance for 2-17 year olds through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. This assistance covers a range of services including examinations, x-rays, cleaning, fissure sealing, fillings, root canals and extractions. Eligible children will have access to a benefit cap of $1,000 over a two calendar year period.

For adults, the National Partnership Program Agreement on public dental services has our back, and this agreement will tend to around 400,000 public adult dental patients.

Lastly, the National Oral Health Plan provides guidance in strengthening Australia’s oral health system in order to prevent and reduce the prevalence of oral disease.

So, who is eligible for free dental care?

Both adults and children can be eligible.

Free dental care for adults

For adults to be eligible for publicly funded dental care you need to be a Queensland resident and receive the benefits from one of the following:

  • pensioner concession card issued by department of veteran affairs or Centrelink
  • health care card
  • Commonwealth seniors health card
  • Queensland seniors card

Free dental care for children

Brisbane Dental Hospital

For children to be eligible for free dental care in Brisbane, they need to be a Queensland resident and be one of the following

  • between 4 years of age and not yet completed Year 10 at school
  • younger than 4 years of age or have completed year 10 and are dependents of current concession card holders or hold a current concession card
  • under the guardianship of the Director-General, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services

A completed medical history and consent form is required for all children and young people prior to commencing treatment. Children may be entitled to $1000 of free dental treatment per 2 years. You can read more about the Child Dental Benefits Schedule for children here.

Government dental vouchers

In some cases, some patients who are on the list mentioned in the dot points above and on the public waiting list may be offered a outsourcing dental voucher in order to receive discounted treatment in a private practice. This is what happened to me a while back. I was on the waiting list for the Brisbane Dental Hospital and I got a text message saying that I could choose from a dentist off their list (they gave me a link to the list) and have a dollar value to spend on getting a filling. When I got the text message, I chose the closest dentist to me (literally in walking distance) and got my filling there. I thought this was a much better system that waiting to get into the dental hospital at Herston!

Emergency dental services

The Queensland Health Oral Health service can also help you with dental emergencies.

Types of emergencies include accidents that involve your teeth or mouth, toothache, tooth or mouth bleeding, infections and swelling.

You can ask to be seen at the dental hospital if any of the following occurs:

  • toothache
  • knocked out tooth
  • chips, fractures and cracks
  • bitten lips or cheeks
  • abscesses and swelling
  • soft tissue trauma and bleeding
  • jaw pain

Where are the Brisbane Dental Hospital and UQ Oral Health Centre located?

The old Brisbane Dental Hospital is located in Herston, and trust me you won’t miss it – with the beautiful two-story rendered building sitting on the corner at 168 Turbot St in Brisbane City. The new location of the Oral Health Centre is located at the University of Queensland School of Dentistry, Herston Road, Herston. It is a more modern building on the right hand side of the UQ School of Dentistry.

But don’t fear if you can’t get to Herston, there are a number of other Brisbane dental clinics that offer the exact same services to those who are eligible.

Other dental hospitals across North and South Brisbane:

Metro North Dental Services

  • Redcliffe
  • Caboolture
  • Stafford
  • Indooroopilly
  • Pine Rivers
  • Sandgate
  • Herston

Metro South Dental Services

  • Beaudesert
  • Beenleigh
  • Browns Plains
  • Inala
  • Logan Central
  • QEII
  • Redlands
  • South Brisbane
  • Wynnum
  • Yeronga

Contact details for the dental hospitals

Find the closest clinic location via this link.

For appointments, call the oral health on 1300 300 850.      

Photo of author

Janine Mergler

Janine Mergler is a veteran Queensland teacher, graduating from QUT with a BEd majoring in Social Sciences. After many years in the classroom, Janine moved on to academia. She has proudly trained new generations of teachers in her role as a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Education. She has also worked in the Queensland Government as an education specialist, developing education resources and delivering community awareness programs to help families conserve water. Currently she is the owner and editor of Families Magazine, a publication specifically targeted at parents who value a quality education for children.  Janine leads a team of professionals who write about family lifestyle, early childhood, schools and education information and family-friendly events.

27 thoughts on “Brisbane Dental Hospital: Where to Get Free Dental Treatment”

    • Hi Selby, please call the phone number at the bottom of the article (1300 300 850) to book an appointment. We have provided this info as general interest to our readers and aren’t associated with any of the dental service providers.

      Reply
    • Hi Selby, This article is to provide general information to readers. Please call 1300 300 850 or click the link in the bottom paragraph to access more information about eligibility and to make an appointment.

      Reply
  1. Hello!
    I am a pensioner with full benefits, 70 years old
    Two of my bottom front teeth has become loose, I eat very little at the moment as I don’t want to loose them. How can I get to see a Dentist at the hospitaI
    I went to a private Dentist but could not afford the treatment they were suggesting
    Regards
    Flocy Vidot

    Reply
    • Hi Klaus,

      This article is to provide general information to readers. Please call 1300 300 850 or click the link in the bottom paragraph to access more information about eligibility and to make an appointment.

      Reply
  2. Hi
    I’m a pensioner & I was wondering do I have to register for going to the dental hospital?
    I would like to have a checkup as i haven’t had one for a fair while.
    Is it possible to have a dental checkup at Herston?
    Although I haven’t registered in the event of an emergency do I just ring the 1300 300 850 ph no?
    Herston woyld be the most convenient location but prepared to go to another location if Herston not available at the time.
    Thanks
    Gerard

    Reply
  3. I have just started living in Australia and hold QLD senior card as well as Medicare card. Am I entitled to get dental treatment free of charge. Such as consultation and hygiene cleansing if required?

    Reply
  4. Good Morning Dental clinic,
    My name is Violet Christie 0458759904.
    I have dental fillings that need attention on left upper jaw large filling.

    Lower Jaw leftt side pre molars deep filling. And a gap of wisdom tooth removed.

    Right upper is doing well.
    Right lower two molars are missing and will require a false teeth.

    I would like to book my appointment.

    Regards

    Violet

    Reply
  5. Hi, I know I am not entitled to Free assistance. But I require surgery to remove approx. 8 broken/stumpy teeth and obtain dentures for my lower jaw. Where and how do I go about arranging surgery etc and dentures? I don’t have a good credit history due to an accident but require something low cost if possible. Thank you for your assistance

    Reply
  6. My husband and I would like to have surgery to have multiple teeth removed and replaced, hopefully instead of dentures. Would like to discuss this with someone please.

    Reply
  7. Have cancer , by the time I get through to make an emergency dental apt, I will be gone,, probably from a bad tooth, befor the cancer hahaha one phone number in is a bit ridiculous,

    Reply
  8. My brother (aged 51)moved to Qld a year ago and is currently unemployed and on a health care card. He has lost most of his upper and lower teeth, with only stumps remaining, and can only chew on one side. He has put off major dental work for years, to low income and protracted depression.
    His self image is at an all time low. I am researching some options for him to proceed with dental implants, which he is very open to.
    Could u please advise me in the way forward.? I read that some Qld clinics employ student dentists to perform such procedures for a subsidised cost?
    I know having this dental treatment would be a total game changer for him, in terms of mental/ physical health.

    Thank you in anticipation for your response. Kind regards, Anthea.( living on Gold Coast)

    Reply
  9. Hi, I am in desperation need/help for dental treatment. Teeth have gone bad. Not eligible for a dental loan, have tried everywhere. This is my last try. Wanting to find out if I’m eligible for free treatment. Brisbane area.

    Reply
  10. I am a pensioner with a mouth full of 8 teeth that are broken and need to come out.
    I want to have all my teeth out and replaced with the best dentures.
    At the moment I am unable to chew my food.
    How do start the process of having this done at the hospital, will I be out under anethetic to have this done and how long before I would be fitted with dentures

    Reply
  11. I am in real need of new dentures. I have always had them replaced at Brisbane Dental Univetsity but now live at Redcliffe and see there is a Dental University at Redcliffe Hospital. I am on the aged pension and would like my dentures replaced at Redcliffe if at all possible.

    Reply
  12. Hi, I’m a 34 single mum on pension with no teeth at all, I would love to have work done to change this situation so I might be able to show my kids how to eat food properly.

    Reply
  13. My Grandaughter is now living in Brisbane and needs dental attention. She is currently unemployed and is dyslexic and some other health issues. Is she eligible for dental vouchers. if so where can they be sourced.

    Reply
  14. There are no services at the Redlands for Oral Health. The dentist told me she couldn’t offer any service but another appointment. The voucher system to see a private dentist is an excellent service. The in house dentist is a total waste of public money. The dentist told me she could not refer me to anyone despite having periodontal disease. Hogwash!!!!!!

    Reply

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