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All Queensland resident children four years of age or older who have not completed Year 10 of secondary school are eligible for publicly funded oral health care via Queensland Health's Child and Adolescent Oral Health Services (previously referred to as the School Dental Program).
Children younger than four years of age and those who have completed Year 10 of secondary school are also eligible for publicly funded oral health care if they are dependents of current concession card holders or hold a current concession card themselves.
General courses of oral health care are usually provided on-site at schools through fixed or mobile dental clinics. However some Districts are centralising their service model for providing oral health care to children and adolescents at larger dental clinics located within their District rather than on-site within schools. Oral health care is provided by teams of oral health staff including dentists, oral health therapists, dental therapists and dental assistants.
Limited specialist services are available in some Districts. Specialist Services are means-tested (eg. only for concession card holders) and eligible patients are prioritised based on severity criteria.
All enquiries regarding emergency and urgent care should be directed to the nearest dental clinic (check the White Pages under Queensland Health for telephone details). Some Districts operate a centralised emergency/urgent care contact number. Emergencies are generally assessed over the telephone by trained staff and appointments are prioritised based on severity.
Schools are treated on a rotational basis. An offer of dental treatment is issued by way of a Medical History/Consent Form. Forms are issued to all enrolled eligible students at the commencement of services within each school. It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure completed Forms are returned promptly. Only children whose parents/guardians return completed Consent Forms receive care.
The frequency of recalls at individual schools can vary on a District by District basis and is directly related to such variables as consent rates and the burden of oral disease. Australia's National Oral health Plan 2004 - 2013 recommends children and adolescents receive at lease one course of general oral health care every two years. In many Districts, Queensland Health is able to exceed this recommendation and offer a general course of care more frequently.
Publicly funded oral health services are provided at no charge to eligible clients.
Parents/guardians may be required to transport children to and from dental appointments at a nearby clinic if treatment is not able to be performed on-site at the school. Clinic staff will be able to advise of public transport options if these are available. Transport costs are not met by Queensland Health.
To find your nearest public dental clinic you can look under Queensland Health, Dental (Oral) Health Services in the white pages or alternatively contact details can be obtained by refering to the local services list 
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