My Family Dental Check-up and Clean in Innisfail
The appointment that keeps the other appointments small, at our Innisfail clinic
You see it too
Intra-oral camera, on the screen
CDBS bulk billed
For eligible children
$330
Check-up and clean; written quote before any treatment
Reminders
So the six months does not become five years
Almost everything expensive in dentistry started as something cheap that nobody looked at. That is the entire argument for a check-up, and it is a better one than anything about fresh breath. In Innisfail it is also the appointment that keeps you out of a car heading for Cairns.
What the Appointment Actually Is
- The examination. Teeth, existing fillings and crowns, the gums, the soft tissues, and how your bite meets.
- X-rays where there is a reason. Decay between teeth and trouble under old fillings are invisible until they are large. Not every visit needs them.
- Gum measurements. Pocket depths around the teeth, which is how gum disease gets caught while it is still reversible.
- The clean. Removing the hardened deposit a brush cannot shift, then polishing.
- Fluoride, and sealants for children where they will do some good.
- The conversation. What was found, what it means, and what happens if you leave it. In plain words.
You Get to See It
There is an intra-oral camera at this clinic, so a cracked filling or a patch of inflamed gum goes up on a screen rather than being described to you while you lie there with your mouth open. It makes a difference. Being told you have a crack is an opinion; seeing it is a fact, and it is easier to decide what to do about something you have actually looked at.
Six Months Is a Default, Not a Rule
For most people twice a year is about right. It is not right for everyone.
Healthy gums, low decay risk and good habits can sometimes mean twelve months is enough. A history of gum disease, heavy grinding, smoking, dry mouth from medication, or a run of fillings usually means three or four monthly, because the interval is what stops the problem coming back. We will tell you which one you are and the reason, rather than putting everyone on the same recall.
Reminders come by text, which sounds trivial and is not: six months is exactly long enough to forget, and forgetting is how six months quietly becomes five years.
If It Has Been a Long Time
Come anyway. A first visit after a long gap is an examination and a plan, not a lecture and not everything at once. Where there is a lot to do, it gets sequenced: the things causing harm first, the things that can wait, later. Knowing the list is less unpleasant than imagining it.
If the appointment itself is the obstacle rather than the dentistry, that is worth saying when you book. There are options for that, and they are ordinary.
Children
Children are seen here too, and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule is bulk billed at this clinic, so eligible care is at no out-of-pocket cost within the cap. There is more on our CDBS page and on children’s dentistry in Innisfail.
Coming to Innisfail
A check-up is a short appointment, which is exactly why it is the one that gets skipped when it means a day on the road. Having it here in Innisfail is what makes the six-month interval realistic rather than aspirational. There is parking on site.
Booking can be done online, and the patient forms can be filled in before you arrive rather than on a clipboard in the waiting room. Full details of this clinic, including hours and parking, are on the Innisfail clinic page.
Paying for It
A check-up and clean is $330, covering the examination and a scale and clean. X-rays, fluoride and a head and neck check are quoted separately where they are needed, so what you pay varies with what the day calls for rather than being hidden. If anything needs treatment, you get a written quote before it happens.
We are a preferred provider for Bupa, HCF, nib, Medibank, Defence Health, Teachers Health, CBHS, Westfund and HBF, and we claim through HICAPS at the desk, so the rebate comes off on the spot and you pay the gap. There is more on our health funds page. This clinic also accepts Queensland Health vouchers.
My Family Dental Innisfail
39 Rankin St, Innisfail QLD 4860
(07) 4061 8110
Important: Recommended recall intervals vary between individuals and are decided after an examination. X-rays are taken only where clinically indicated. Any dental treatment carries risks and outcomes vary. Seek advice appropriate to your circumstances from a qualified health practitioner.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Every six months suits most people, and it is a default rather than a law. Someone with healthy gums, low decay risk and good habits can sometimes stretch to twelve months. Someone who has had gum disease, who grinds, who smokes, or who gets decay easily often needs three or four monthly visits, and being told that is not an upsell, it is what keeps the problem from returning. We will tell you which of those you are and why.
An examination of the teeth, the gums and the soft tissues, x-rays where they are needed to see between and inside teeth, a check of how your bite meets, and then the clean: removing the hard deposit a toothbrush cannot shift, and polishing. We finish by telling you what we found, in plain terms, and what if anything needs doing.
No. Plenty of people arrive apologising for how long it has been, and it is a good deal more common than they think. What is useful is finding out what is there and deciding what to do about it, in an order you can manage. What is not useful is being made to feel bad about the gap.
Not every visit. They are taken when there is a reason, because decay between teeth and problems under old fillings are invisible to the eye until they are large. This clinic has cone beam CT imaging on site, so where a three-dimensional view is genuinely needed it is taken here rather than referred out. We will explain why an image is being taken before it is taken.
If they are eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, yes. We bulk bill it at Innisfail, so eligible care is at no out-of-pocket cost within the cap. We check eligibility at the front desk before the appointment.
A check-up and clean is $330, covering the examination and a scale and clean. X-rays, fluoride and a head and neck check are quoted separately where they are needed, so the total varies with what the day actually calls for. If we find something that needs treatment you get a written quote before anything is booked. We are a preferred provider for nine health funds and claim through HICAPS at the desk, so you pay only the gap.
Ready to Book Your Visit?
Book a visit at your nearest My Family Dental clinic: we’ll talk through your options and what it costs.