Can a Dentist Issue a Medical Certificate for Toothache, or Do You Need a GP?

Where a Dentist's Certificate Fits

Two kinds of registered practitioners can document toothache. Your dentist can speak to the treatment they gave you. A GP can assess how the pain affects your work and decide whether a sick leave certificate is supported. For the condition itself, see the medical certificate for dental pain page.

The Dental Board of Australia works to keep Australia's dental practitioners suitably trained, qualified and safe to practise. Some registered practitioners other than doctors may be able to provide certificates within their scope of practice. If your dentist treated you, ask them first whether they can cover the treatment day and your recovery.

The Australian Dental Association has a policy statement on dental certificates, last amended in November 2019. It says dentists should generally provide certificates only when they arise from treatment the dentist provided to the patient. It also asks for factual information backed by the patient's clinical records. That's professional guidance from the association, not a law. Still, a dentist who hasn't treated you may reasonably decline.

A Quick Decision Path

Start with how bad the pain is. Breathing or speech problems, or swelling around the eye or neck, come before any paperwork (see the urgent signs further down). Otherwise, the table below shows who usually fits which situation.

Say a worker wakes on Tuesday with throbbing tooth pain, and the earliest dental appointment is Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday are a work capacity question, which a GP can assess. Thursday is a treatment question, and the dentist can speak to that day and the recovery after it.

When a GP Certificate Makes More Sense

A dental visit doesn't always line up with the days you can't work. You might be in pain for a day or two before the first available appointment. In that gap, a GP can assess how the pain affects talking, eating, sleep, and focus. They then decide what period, if any, a certificate should cover. The GP documents your work capacity, while the dentist handles the tooth.

Expect questions about when the pain started, whether you have a dental booking, and whether you have a fever or facial swelling. The GP also asks what your job involves. Phone work, customer contact and driving all change the picture. A GP certifies only what the consult supports, so the dates on the certificate reflect that assessment.

Phone is the default for these consults. If the GP needs to see swelling in your face, they may move the call to video. For a patient under 18, a parent or guardian joins, by phone or video as the GP decides.

What Your Employer Can Ask For

Under the national workplace rules, your employer may ask for reasonable evidence that you were entitled to the leave. Fair Work's guidance on notice and evidence lists a medical certificate as one form of evidence. That guidance also says you need to tell your employer as soon as possible, and the notice can come after the leave has started. Even a single day away can lead to a request for evidence. If you don't provide it when asked, you may not be entitled to be paid for the leave.

Your award, registered agreement or workplace policy can add detail. If you're unsure, ask your manager what they'd accept before you book anything.

What a Dental Certificate Needn't Say

The Dental Association's policy says a diagnosis is usually not required on a certificate. It also says attendance certificates shouldn't include sensitive health information. The elements it recommends include your name, the attendance date and the dentist's opinion on your fitness for work or study.

So the certificate can answer one plain question: were you unable to work on those dates?

Toothache Signs That Need Urgent Care

Some symptoms matter more than any certificate. Healthdirect's toothache and gum swelling page covers when to get emergency medical care. That means toothache or gum swelling that affects your breathing or speech, or swelling around your eye or neck.

That page also advises seeing a dentist as soon as possible if a toothache lasts more than 2 days. Pain that pain-relief medicines don't ease gets the same advice. For comfort in the meantime, it lists resting with your head propped up and a cold compress against your face. It adds that gargling with salt water may ease a mild toothache.

Healthdirect's tooth abscess page says an abscess will not go away on its own. It also notes you may be treated by a dentist, a doctor or an endodontist. You should start feeling better within 2 to 3 days after treatment starts. Get the care first, then sort out the paperwork.