From your Brisbane CBD dentist at Dentistry on George

This year, Dental Health Week (5–11 August) turns the spotlight to children’s oral health under the theme: “Reach Every S‑Milestone.”

As a trusted Brisbane CBD dental clinic, we see many working professionals, but we also understand that many of our patients are parents, grandparents, carers, or educators who play an important role in children’s wellbeing. We also have many of our patients bring their children along for their check-ups too! That’s why we’re supporting this year’s campaign by sharing practical advice on how to help the young people in your life build strong, healthy smiles from the start.

What Are “S‑Milestones”?

This year’s campaign by the Australian Dental Association focuses on five key oral health milestones that help shape a child’s development:

• Birth to the first tooth – clean gums with a small damp cloth

• First tooth to 18 months – start brushing the teeth as they come through; schedule the first dental visit

• 18 months to 6 years – brush twice daily with a kid’s toothpaste and don’t forget to floss!

• From 6 years old – use adult fluoride toothpaste. Don’t forget the regular dental visits.

• From 8 years old Self-care – support children to brush and floss on their own

These milestones often begin before a child’s first birthday and continue well into primary school. Supporting them means giving children the best chance for a confident, healthy smile into adulthood.

Why Children’s Oral Health Matters

If you’re a parent or grandparent balancing work, family, and a packed calendar, we know how easy it is to overlook routine check-ups — especially for kids.

But did you know that tooth decay is one of the most common chronic conditions in children? The good news: it’s mostly preventable. With the right guidance and early habits, you can help the children in your life avoid unnecessary dental treatments later on.

What We Recommend

At Dentistry on George, we welcome children — especially when it makes appointments more convenient for families. We also believe in equipping parents and carers with simple, clear advice to support kids through each stage:

🍼 First tooth? Start brushing. Use a small, soft toothbrush and a smear of fluoride toothpaste.
👧🏽 Supervise brushing until around age 8. Make it part of a fun, daily routine.
🦷 Dental visits should start early. We recommend booking their first appointment by 12 months of age or when the first tooth comes through.
💧 Tap water is best. Brisbane’s water contains fluoride, which helps strengthen teeth and prevent decay.

Have questions during your own appointment? Just ask — we’re always happy to help.

A Brisbane CBD Dentist You Can Trust

Our clinic is known for its calm, professional environment, and many of our patients appreciate being able to book in their children alongside their own visits. Whether it’s a check-up for yourself or your child, you’ll receive the same level of care: gentle, honest, and backed by up-to-date clinical standards.

We simply care about helping everyone in your household stay healthy, informed, and smiling. Did you know that we also see children who are eligible for the Child Dental Benefit Schedule? Read more here.

Book a Check-Up This Dental Health Week

📍 Located conveniently in the Brisbane CBD, we offer high-quality dental care for working professionals and their families.
🦷 From regular check-ups to practical guidance for your child’s oral health journey, we’re here to support your smile — and theirs.

📞 Call Dentistry on George: (07) 3211 1155
📅 Book online
📍 Visit our dental clinic in Brisbane CBD

Let’s help the next generation smile with confidence.

The post Supporting Growing Smiles: Essential Tips for Children’s Oral Health in Brisbane first appeared on Dentistry on George.

5 Tips to Reduce Your Waste

Turn the tap off when brushing

The average person wastes at least 90 glasses of water per day when they leave the tap running while brushing their teeth!!

Did you know, you don’t actually need any water to brush your teeth?

• Apply toothpaste to brush
• Brush for 2 minutes
• Spit (don’t rinse your mouth)

(OK, well you will actually need a little water to rinse your brush!)

Kathryn at the Brisbane Council Green
Heart Fair last weekend.

Switch toothbrush

Are you using a plastic manual toothbrush? Why not try a bamboo brush?

In Australia, over 30 million toothbrushes are used and disposed of, amounting to approximately 1000 tonnes of landfill each year. The plastic they’re made of won’t break down in our lifetime (www.enviromentaltoothbrush.com.au).

We are using The Environmental Toothbrush, which was developed by a Brisbane Dentist. The handles are made from Moso bamboo (which is not a food source for pandas). This is biodegradable, environmentally sustainable, and does not pollute the environment. Did you know that bamboo is considered a grass, and is the fasted growing plant on the planet? This amazing growth and self-renewing ability means that the use of bamboo is environmentally sustainable. Also, the bamboo that The Environmental Toothbrush uses is grown by local farmers (not on plantations).

The Environmental Toothbrush – We will be
giving these away in July.

When it’s time for a new brush, break off the bristles and put in the bin. Put the bamboo handle in the compost or in your garden, where it will break down.

We will be giving away these amazing brushes during Plastic Free July – so be sure to come in and get yours!

Re-usable Floss Containers

There’s no getting around it – we need to floss. And unfortunately there is no alternative to the plastic tapes available at the moment. However, what about reducing the amount of plastic by using a refillable floss container? We stock some Seriously Good Floss – Man Floss & Queen of Clean, which come in a refillable glass jar. Just buy this once, then top up with the refills when you run out.

Seriously Good Floss!! Glass floss jars with refils.

Recycle your packaging with Terracycle

Terracycle’s aim is to recycle the ‘non-recyclable’. Check out their website for all the info on how you can participate. If you would be interested in dropping off your oral care waste (toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, packages and containers) to us to send to Terracycle, please let us know as we are considering becoming a drop-off location.

Visit your dentist regularly

By visiting your dentist regularly and carrying out proper home-care, you will greatly reduce your need for any treatment (other than preventive care like scaling and cleanings). This will reduce time, effort, money and the energy that goes in to carrying out these treatments. All non-disposable equipment used on you needs to be re-processed (cleaned and sterilised) which uses energy and water. Some equipment due to safety and infection control reasons is disposable and usually made of plastic (although we do try to source degradable plastics).

Taking the recycling out!

5 Things We’ve Done To Reduce Our Waste

Set up a recycling programme

We recycle everything that we can, from paper and cardboard to ink cartridges and old x-rays. We work with a company who will safely and confidentially recycle old x-ray films (among many other things). Did you know that x-ray films contain silver halide which can be extracted and converted into pure silver?

Our recycling system.

Gone paperless

This is still a work in progress, but we have massively reduced the amount of paper and ink we are using. Last year we switched from paper records to a computer system. Those who have seen us this year will have noticed the use of the iPad as we move away from paper forms.

We will always ask you first if you want a receipt printed. We can email you invoices, treatment plans, information and forms.

Re-usable cups for coffee

The staff have been using Keep Cups for a while now if going out for their morning coffee.

Reducing Plastic

To comply with infection control regulations and ensure your safety, we do have to use a lot of plastics and disposables. We will always try a reusable option first. Where we have no choice, we source our disposable products from a great company called BioProtect. Their products use degradable plastic, used from EPI (Environmental Products Inc.), a 100% oxo-biodegradable material. They even supply us with cornstarch cups instead of plastic ones.

Cornstarch cup which completely
biodegrades.

Digital x-rays are coming soon!

This will mean less chemicals, no actual films and less water and energy in the processing.

We will be celebrating Plastic Free July with some special gifts and prizes, so if you are due your dental check-up or have treatment to finish, be sure to book in.

Resources:

https://www.terracycle.com/en-AU

https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/

The post How to save the planet while brushing your teeth first appeared on Dentistry on George.

We’ve been hearing more frustration lately about health fund rebates not going as far as they used to. If you’ve ever walked out thinking “I pay plenty in premiums—why is my rebate so small?”, you’re not alone.

This is a practical guide to:

• how extras cover actually works for dental

• what “preferred provider” really means

• how to tell if your policy still stacks up

(Quick note: this is general information, not financial advice.)

What is “extras” cover?

Private health insurance is usually split into hospital cover and general treatment cover (often called “extras”). Extras may include things like dental, physio, optical, and more (Private Health Australia).

For dental, your rebate is set by your insurer, based on your level of cover and the item claimed. Your dentist doesn’t control your rebate.

Most extras policies have limits like:

• annual limits (a cap per year)

• per-service limits (a cap per item or per visit)

• waiting periods

• separate buckets for general vs major dental (varies by fund/policy)

If your rebates feel worse than they used to, it’s often because limits haven’t risen much, or the policy changed, not because the dental fees suddenly exploded (adavb.org).

Why your rebate can drop (even if you haven’t changed dentists)

A few common reasons:

• you hit your annual limit earlier than you realised

• your policy has tight per-item caps

• the insurer pays benefits for some items but not others

• your policy includes waiting periods or restrictions on frequency (adavb.org)

• you’ve moved into treatment types that sit under major dental (often lower rebates / stricter limits) such as dental implants or crowns and bridges.

What does “preferred provider dentist” actually mean?

“Preferred provider” (sometimes called “member’s choice”) is basically a commercial arrangement between a health fund and a dental practice.

In general, it means:

• the fund promotes that practice to members

• the practice agrees to conditions set by the fund (often including fee schedules or “no/low gap” arrangements)

• members may receive higher rebates (or “no gap”) when they attend that network, depending on the fund and policy

Importantly: “preferred” doesn’t mean better trained or higher quality. It usually just means “contracted.” (adavb.org+1)

Why Dentistry on George isn’t a preferred provider

We’re not a preferred provider for any fund because we don’t want an insurer influencing:

• what we recommend

• how long we spend with you

• what materials/approaches we use

• the fees we need to charge to deliver care properly

We’d rather keep it simple:

• we recommend what’s appropriate for you

• you claim whatever your policy pays

• you choose whether your cover still suits your needs

(Plenty of good dentists are in networks. Plenty of good dentists aren’t. We’re just explaining our approach.)

How to tell if your extras cover is worth it (a quick checklist)

When you’re comparing policies, look past the headline premium and check:

1. Annual dental limit (and whether it’s split into general/major)

2. Rebate level per item (not just “percentage back” marketing)

3. Waiting periods (especially if you’re switching)

4. Restrictions on frequency (e.g., how often they’ll pay for certain items)

5. Whether the value you actually claim each year is more than what you pay in premiums (for the extras portion)

A lot of people do better with a “self-fund” approach: set aside a dental budget monthly and use it when needed. That’s not right for everyone, but it can be a useful comparison.

Where to compare policies properly

The most reliable starting point is the Australian Government’s private health insurance comparison site, which contains the policy details insurers are required to provide.

Bottom line

If you’re unhappy with rebates, don’t assume the solution is “find a preferred provider.” The real question is whether your policy benefits match your real dental needs.

If you want help understanding how your cover applies to a proposed treatment plan, bring your policy details and we can explain what’s claimable—but your insurer will always have the final say on rebates.

By researching your dental needs and the different policies available. you may find a better policy that suits your needs.

The post Dental Extras Cover, Rebates & “Preferred Providers”: What You Need to Know first appeared on Dentistry on George.