How Much Does a Filling Cost in Australia?
The short answer.
On 2023-24 health fund claims, a white filling in a back tooth averaged $179 for one surface, $221 for two and $252 for three (Private Healthcare Australia). Funds paid about half. The exam and X-rays are charged separately.
A filling is priced by the tooth and by how many of its surfaces it covers, so on 2023-24 health fund claims the average ran from $170 for one surface of a front tooth to $252 for three surfaces of a back tooth, before the exam and X-ray. If a check-up has just found a cavity or two, or you’ve broken a piece off a back tooth, you may be holding a quote for fillings and wondering whether it’s normal.
What a filling costs in Australia
A one-surface white filling averaged $179 on a back tooth and $170 on a front tooth in 2023-24, and each extra surface cost more, according to Private Healthcare Australia (PHA), the peak body for health funds.
White fillings, 2023-24 averages
| Filling | Item | Average charge | Funds paid | Patient paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front tooth, one surface | 521 | $170 | $81 | $89 |
| Front tooth, two surfaces | 522 | $203 | $97 | $106 |
| Back tooth, one surface | 531 | $179 | $90 | $89 |
| Back tooth, two surfaces | 532 | $221 | $111 | $111 |
| Back tooth, three surfaces | 533 | $252 | $130 | $122 |
Source: Private Healthcare Australia, Typical prices of dental care, 2023-24 claims. These are published Australian figures, not Dental Spot’s fees.
A tooth has five surfaces: the biting surface, the side facing your cheek or lip, the side facing your tongue, and the two sides that touch the teeth next to it. A filling that wraps around more of them is a bigger job. On a back tooth, the second surface added $42 on average and the third $31. For one surface, front and back teeth differed by $9. PHA publishes no average for a front-tooth filling on three surfaces, or for any filling on four or five.
The Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) schedule gives both white materials, composite resin and glass ionomer cement, the same item numbers. A quote prices the tooth and its surfaces, not the white material.
At $200, a quote for one filling sits between PHA’s averages for one surface ($179) and two surfaces ($221) on a back tooth. Four one-surface back-tooth fillings come to $716 at these averages, with funds paying $360. Four two-surface fillings come to $884, with funds paying $444 (our sums).
PHA’s figures cover only fillings claimed on private health insurance, across Australia, from general dentists and other dentists together. PHA hasn’t published a newer edition, so these are the newest public averages for each item, though they’re from claims more than two years old and today’s fees may differ. PHA rounds each average to the dollar, so funds paid and patient paid can add up to a dollar more than the charge. The dentists’ own 2022 fee survey, reported by CHOICE, puts these items within a few dollars of PHA’s figures.
What else is on the bill
The filling item covers the work on the tooth, and anything else at the visit is billed as its own item. In the ADA’s schedule, a filling includes preparing the tooth, a lining under the filling, any reshaping of the teeth beside and opposite it, placing the filling, and normal care afterwards. Pins and rebuilding a broken cusp are billed on top. Most fillings take one appointment of 20 to 60 minutes, and how long a filling takes explains why.
Other items a filling bill can carry
| Item | Item number | Average charge (PHA 2023-24) |
|---|---|---|
| Examination, new patient | 011 | $66 |
| Examination, existing patient | 012 | $61 |
| Examination of one problem, often at an emergency visit | 013 | $56 |
| X-ray | 022 | $45 each |
| Rebuilding a broken cusp, per cusp | 577 | $39 |
| Pin to hold a large filling, per pin | 575 | No PHA figure |
| Temporary filling, per tooth | 572 | No PHA figure |
| Inhaled sedation, per 30 minutes | 943 | $93 |
A chipped back tooth fixed at an emergency visit usually carries three items.
A chipped back tooth at an emergency visit: our sum of PHA’s 2023-24 averages
| Item | Average charge |
|---|---|
| Examination of one problem (013) | $56 |
| One X-ray (022) | $45 |
| Back tooth, two surfaces (532) | $221 |
| Total | $322 |
Source: Private Healthcare Australia, Typical prices of dental care, 2023-24 claims. These are published Australian figures, not Dental Spot’s fees.
Funds paid $177 of that on average, and patients $146.
Inlays and onlays, fillings a lab makes in porcelain or gold, have their own item numbers and no published average, so they’re quoted separately.
Two quotes for the same teeth compare only item by item. healthdirect suggests asking each dentist for the item numbers, then comparing prices across a few practices.
Does a white filling cost more than silver?
No one publishes an average price for a silver (amalgam) filling, so there’s no fair figure to compare. PHA lists only white fillings, and the silver-filling prices online are individual clinics’ own.
What funds pay back is close. ahm family extras pays $56.10 for a one-surface silver filling (511) against $59.15 for a one-surface white filling in a back tooth (531), and $74.45 against $92.80 for three surfaces (513 and 533).
Silver is being phased out. Countries in the Minamata Convention on mercury have agreed to ban amalgam manufacture, import and export from 2034, the ADA reports. Dentists will still be able to use amalgam where a patient needs it. NSW Health tells its public dental services to keep amalgam to a minimum where something else suits, particularly for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women. That guideline doesn’t cover private practices.
If you already have silver fillings, they can stay. healthdirect says they’re safe and effective for most people, and that you shouldn’t need them replaced.
A Cochrane review found white fillings in children’s back teeth may fail at almost twice the rate of silver ones, on low-certainty evidence from older trials, and its authors say white filling materials have improved since (Worthington and others, 2021). Our fillings guide covers how long fillings last.
What your health fund pays back
Funds paid 48% to 51% of the charge for a white filling across all 2023-24 claims (PHA), but what yours pays depends on your policy. Three published policies show the spread.
Filling benefits on three 2026 policies
| Policy | Benefit per filling | Annual limit it draws on | Wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| ahm family extras (1 April 2026) | 521: $57.10, 531: $59.15, 533: $92.80 | Routine dental: $500 in your first 5 years of membership, rising to $650 from 20 years, shared with check-ups | None |
| HIF Essential Extras (1 January 2026) | 531: $83.90 | General dental: one $1,250 limit shared with major dental and orthodontics | 2 months |
| HIF Top Extras (1 January 2026) | 531: $97.20 | General dental: no annual limit | 2 months |
On ahm family extras, fillings share a limit with check-ups, and on HIF Essential Extras one limit covers all dental work, so treatment earlier in the year leaves less for fillings.
Some funds class larger fillings as major dental, and all three policies above wait 12 months for major dental. Ask your fund which category each item number on your quote falls under.
Fill it, wait, or take it out?
On the day, taking the tooth out costs about the same as a two-surface filling, and waiting can turn a filling into bigger work. In 2023-24 a simple extraction (311) averaged $215, against $221 for a two-surface filling in a back tooth (532), according to PHA. Taking it out leaves a gap, though, and a bridge, implant or denture to fill it later costs more. Our implant cost guide sets out what an implant costs.
Decay eats through the hard outer layer of a tooth. Left alone it reaches the nerve, and the fix gets bigger: a root canal, a crown, or losing the tooth. Root canal treatment on a tooth with one canal averaged $759 in 2023-24 before any crown, against $179 to $252 for a back-tooth filling. Our root canal cost guide has the full figures.
Frequently asked questions
Are fillings covered by Medicare?
Not for most adults. healthdirect says the Australian Government doesn’t generally pay for dental services. NSW public dental services treat children under 18 and adults with a Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule covers fillings for eligible children, up to $1,158 per child over two calendar years.
Can a cavity wait?
There’s no fixed time. It depends on how deep the decay is, which an X-ray shows, so ask your dentist which teeth need treatment now and which can be watched.
What if I can’t afford all my fillings at once?
Ask which fillings are most urgent, and whether the rest can be done in stages, so the cost is spread across more than one year of fund limits. If you have a concession card, NSW public dental may treat you, and we accept NSW Health dental vouchers.
Is a filling cheaper in Sydney?
No source publishes a Sydney average, and PHA’s figures are national. To compare practices, ask each for the item numbers on its quote and the fee for each.
Does a filling hurt?
We numb the tooth first, so most people feel pressure and vibration while we work. If you’re anxious, ask about inhaled sedation.
How much is a temporary filling?
It’s its own item (572), and PHA publishes no average for it, so ask for the fee. Temporary fillings are often placed at emergency visits.
Talk to us
Fees depend on the treatment you need, so we give you an accurate quote at your consultation, before anything starts. We’ll tell you what needs doing now and what can wait, and your quote lists the item numbers, so your fund can tell you its benefit before you decide. Nothing goes ahead until you say yes. We use tooth-coloured composite, matched to the shade of your teeth. It contains no mercury. Any of our dentists can do your filling, and Dr Amanda Zhong and Dr Jose Shina both enjoy fillings. Bring your fund card and we’ll claim through HICAPS when you pay, so you pay only the gap. If you’ve broken a tooth and it hurts, see our emergency dentist page. Read about fillings at Dental Spot.
Sources
- Typical prices of dental care (2023-24) (another site), Private Healthcare Australia, October 2024
- The Australian Schedule of Dental Services and Glossary, 13th edition (another site), Australian Dental Association
- How much does the dentist cost? (another site), CHOICE, updated 9 March 2023
- Cost of dental care (another site), healthdirect
- Dental fillings (another site), healthdirect, last reviewed February 2025
- Mercury amalgam global phase-out date set for 2034 (another site), Australian Dental Association, 11 November 2025
- Dental Amalgam – clinical use and disposal (GL2026_013) (another site), NSW Health, 29 July 2026
- Direct composite resin fillings versus amalgam fillings for permanent posterior teeth (another site), Worthington and others, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2021
- What’s covered by the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (another site), Services Australia
- Fund benefit examples: ahm family extras (another site) (1 April 2026), HIF Essential Extras (another site) and HIF Top Extras (another site) (1 January 2026)
This guide is general information, not advice about your own teeth. Your dentist can tell you what applies to you, including the risks of any treatment.
