A Gum Graft Costs Nearly 15 Years of What Australians Pay the Dentist

The gum disease cost ladder, from one year to nearly fifteen

Australians paid an average of $296 each out of pocket for dental care over 12 months in 2023-24, according to the AIHW. That figure excludes private health insurance premiums. It is an average across the whole population, so it includes people who did not see a dentist that year. Measured against it, a scale and clean ($300) costs about one year of average out-of-pocket spend at Going Rate's prices, and a dental check-up ($230) about three-quarters of a year.

Further up the ladder the multiples grow. A typical course of gum disease treatment ($2,350) equals about eight years of average out-of-pocket spend, a typical periodontist bill ($4,100) nearly 14, and a typical gum graft ($4,400) nearly 15. At Going Rate's prices the graft costs nearly 15 times a scale and clean and nearly twice a course of gum treatment. Each is a typical job at its own scope, and a graft can cover more than one site.

The AIHW estimates Australia spent $13.2 billion on dental services in 2023-24. Patients paid 61% of it directly, or $8.0 billion. Health insurers, governments and other payers covered the rest.

Three in 10 adults have gum disease, but only 1 in 10 say so

The 2017-18 National Study of Adult Oral Health examined 5,022 adults and found 30.1% of those with their own teeth had moderate or severe periodontitis, according to a 2021 analysis by Amarasena and colleagues in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. In 2004-06 the figure was 22.9%. The AIHW reports that 29% of people aged 15 and over had gingivitis in 2017-18, the early stage of gum disease that can be reversed.

Far fewer people report it. In the AIHW's 2021 national dental telephone survey, 11% of adults aged 18 and over said they had gum disease. The two surveys used different years and age groups, so the comparison is rough. Roughly 1 in 10 say they have gum disease, and roughly 3 in 10 have it when a dentist examines them.

The AIHW says the rate of non-fatal burden from periodontal disease rose 40% between 2003 and 2024. Its 2026 report still relies on the 2017-18 study for clinical examination figures. At Going Rate's prices, a check-up ($230) costs about a tenth of a course of gum disease treatment ($2,350).

Gum disease by age, sex and state

Age drives the numbers. The AIHW's analysis of the 2017-18 study found moderate or severe periodontitis in 12% of people aged 15 to 34, 33% at 35 to 54, 51% at 55 to 74 and 69% at 75 and over. Men had a higher rate than women, 35% against 26%.

Location mattered too. Queensland had 37% of adults with periodontal disease and South Australia 21%, nearly twice as many, the AIHW reports.

Lost teeth follow the same age curve. Australian adults with their own teeth were missing an average of 4.4 teeth to decay or gum disease in 2017-18, rising to 8.8 at ages 55 to 74 and 13.2 at 75 and over, the AIHW says. Those counts combine both causes. A typical tooth extraction ($1,600) costs more than five years of average out-of-pocket dental spend at Going Rate's prices, and replacing a lost tooth with a single dental implant ($5,000) costs more again.

Deep clean or surgery, and what the DVA pays

Government fee schedules give the clearest public item prices for gum treatment. They show what the Department of Veterans' Affairs pays providers, which is a rebate rate and not a private practice fee. From 1 July 2026, the DVA pays $182.35 per quadrant of the mouth to a general dentist for active non-surgical periodontal therapy, the deep clean below the gumline, and $364.55 to a specialist. Across four quadrants that comes to about $729 for a dentist and $1,458 for a specialist, by our calculation.

For surgery, the DVA pays a specialist $653.95 per tooth or implant for a gingival graft, with a limit of two in 12 months. Supportive periodontal therapy, the follow-up maintenance visit, pays $195.95 to a dentist and $340.15 to a specialist. Flap surgery and bone grafts have no set DVA fee and are negotiated case by case. Private bills for a typical gum graft ($4,400) or a typical periodontist bill ($4,100) sit outside these schedules.

The NSW public Oral Health Fee for Service Scheme pays $30.49 per tooth for periodontal debridement from 1 July 2026, and only with prior approval after a periodontal assessment. Its schedule lists no gum surgery or grafts, though local public oral health services can pre-authorise unlisted items for individual patients. Anyone outside those schemes pays privately for gum disease treatment ($2,350).

What extras cover pays for gum treatment

APRA reports 55.5% of Australians held extras cover at 30 June 2026. Medibank lists periodontics as major dental with a 12-month waiting period, and gives sample major dental limits of $800 to $1,000 a year. On those terms, a new Medibank policy would not pay toward periodontic work such as a gum graft ($4,400) or a course of gum disease treatment ($2,350) in its first year. A $1,000 annual limit covers under a quarter of a typical gum graft at Going Rate's prices.

CHOICE found insurers paid an average of 50% of the fee charged across all extras services in 2023, and a median general dental annual limit of $700 on single Victorian policies in November 2024. CHOICE puts annual limits for major dental and endodontic work at anywhere from $300 to unlimited, and some policies share one combined limit across general and major dental.

Who puts off the dentist, and who has gum disease

The AIHW found 37% of adults whose last dental visit was for a problem had periodontitis in 2017-18, against 26% of those whose last visit was a check-up. Adults eligible for public dental care had a rate of 43%, against 26% for those who were not. These are associations, and the study does not show that skipping check-ups causes gum disease.

Cost keeps many people away. The ABS reports 16.1% of people aged 15 and over delayed or did not see a dental professional because of cost in 2024-25, down from 17.6% the year before. In the most disadvantaged areas the rate was 23.1%, against 9.6% in the least disadvantaged.

Insurance status lines up with gum health as well. The AIHW says 31% of people without dental insurance had gingivitis in 2017-18, against 25% of those with it. At Going Rate's prices, a scale and clean ($300) and a check-up ($230) together cost a little under twice the AIHW's $296 average out-of-pocket spend.

Gum disease and the rest of the body

The trial evidence is strongest for blood sugar. A 2022 Cochrane review found treating gum disease in people with diabetes lowered HbA1c by 0.43 percentage points three to four months after treatment, based on 30 trials with 2,443 participants and rated as moderate-certainty evidence.

For heart disease, the evidence shows an association. A 2020 consensus report from the European Federation of Periodontology and the World Heart Federation found a significant body of evidence for independent associations between severe periodontitis and cardiovascular disease. It found insufficient evidence to support or refute a benefit from treating periodontitis in preventing or delaying cardiovascular events such as heart attacks.

The AIHW estimates Australia spent $554.4 million on periodontal disease in 2023-24, including $33.5 million in hospitals.

Common questions