New to Burns Beach? Start With Your Records, Not From Scratch

Why Your Old X-rays Are Worth Chasing

A dentist looking at your mouth for the first time is looking at a snapshot. They can see what is there today. What they cannot see is what has changed — and change is the single most useful diagnostic signal in dentistry.

A dark shadow between two molars on an x-ray is a genuinely difficult call in isolation. It might be early decay that needs filling. It might be a normal optical artefact that has looked exactly the same for a decade. If your previous dentist took a comparable x-ray three years ago and it is identical, the answer is clear: leave it alone and keep watching. If it has visibly grown, the answer is also clear, and in the opposite direction. Without the old film, a dentist has to make a judgement call, and different dentists make that call differently. This is a large part of why patients get told they need three fillings at a new practice after being told they were fine at the old one — often nobody is wrong, they simply have different information.

Getting them is straightforward. Under Australian privacy law you have a right to access your health records, and dental records are health records. Ring your previous practice, ask them to email your x-rays and clinical notes to us, and give them our details. Most practices do this routinely and either free or for a small administrative fee. If they refuse or stall, that is unusual and worth pushing back on.

The practical benefit is immediate: if you had a full set of x-rays taken eight months ago, you may not need another set now, which is both a cost you avoid and radiation exposure you avoid. Bring what you have — even photos of a treatment plan on your phone are more useful than nothing.

Different dentists make the same borderline call differently. Old x-rays turn a judgement call into a comparison.

01

How do I get my dental records from my old practice?

Ring or email them and ask for your x-rays and clinical notes to be transferred, giving them our practice name and address. You have a right of access to your own health records under Australian privacy law, and dental records fall under that. Most practices handle these requests routinely, send them electronically within a few days, and charge either nothing or a small administrative fee. If you are moving from overseas, ask before you leave — chasing records across time zones after the fact is far harder.

02

I have just moved from the UK. How different is dental care here?

The main difference is financial rather than clinical. There is no NHS equivalent for adult dentistry in Australia — Medicare does not cover routine dental care at all. Adults pay privately, usually offset by private health insurance extras cover, and there is a public dental system for concession card holders with long waiting lists. Clinically the standards are comparable and the training is rigorous. The practical advice is to get extras cover if you do not have it, be aware there is typically a waiting period of two to twelve months before you can claim, and budget for check-ups as a private expense.

03

I just took out health insurance. Can I claim straight away?

Usually not. Nearly all Australian funds impose waiting periods on extras — commonly two months for general dental such as check-ups and fillings, and up to twelve months for major dental like crowns, bridges and implants. If you switch funds at an equivalent level, served waiting periods generally carry across, so you do not start again. Check with your fund before booking anything substantial. If you are still inside a waiting period, we can often sequence treatment so the urgent work happens now and the major work waits until you are covered.

04

My previous dentist said I needed three fillings. Will you just do them?

Not without looking ourselves. We would examine you, review the previous x-rays if we have them, and form our own view. Sometimes we agree entirely and get on with it. Sometimes we think one of the three is genuinely borderline and worth monitoring rather than filling, particularly if there is an older x-ray showing it has not changed. And occasionally we find something the previous exam missed. You are entitled to a considered second opinion rather than an automatic continuation, and that is what you will get.

05

How often should x-rays be taken, and are they safe?

There is no fixed schedule and anyone applying one to every patient is not thinking. It depends on your risk: someone with a history of decay might need bitewings every twelve to eighteen months, while someone with a stable mouth and no fillings might reasonably go two or three years. On safety, modern digital dental x-rays are extremely low dose — a set of two bitewings is a small fraction of the natural background radiation you receive from simply living in Perth for a year, and less than a domestic flight to Sydney. The correct approach is not never, and not routinely, but when there is a specific question the image will answer.

06

We have young children who have never seen an Australian dentist. What do we need to know?

Two things. First, the Child Dental Benefits Schedule provides eligible families with a capped amount of funded basic dental care for children aged 0 to 17 — worth checking your eligibility through myGov. Second, Western Australia runs a School Dental Service providing free basic care to school-age children through its own clinics and mobile vans; you enrol through the school. Many families use the school service for routine screening and a private practice for anything urgent, anything in the holidays, and orthodontic assessment.

07

Is the water in Burns Beach fluoridated?

Yes. Perth's scheme water supply has been fluoridated since 1968, and that includes the northern coastal suburbs. It is the main reason decay rates in Australian children fell so sharply over the second half of the twentieth century. Worth knowing if you have moved from a non-fluoridated area, because it changes the risk picture slightly — and worth knowing if you are on rainwater or filtered water at home, since some filtration systems remove fluoride.

08

How far ahead should I book as a new patient?

For a first appointment, allow a couple of weeks. It is also worth booking a longer initial slot because a new patient exam with full history takes more time than a routine recall. If something is actively hurting, say so when you call and we will treat it as an emergency rather than a new patient booking — those are different queues.