Tully Denahy destroyed his teeth through years of hard living – and fixed them at age 36 by draining his superannuation account dry.

His new teeth cost $53,800. He says they are worth every cent.

“It wasn’t a very difficult choice to make,” Mr Denahy told 7.30.

He says his teeth were damaged through a lack of care after he lived on the streets as a teenager, existed on sweets, used drugs, and did not own a toothbrush until he was 26.

His bright new smile reflects a growing trend as Australians take money out of their retirement savings to pay for dental treatment.

But whether they should be able to in record numbers and the method in which the access to super is approved bears scrutiny.

Australian Tax Office (ATO) statistics show that in 2022-23 more than $313 million was removed from superannuation to pay for dental care, up from $108.2 million just two years earlier.

It’s allowed under the ATO’s Compassionate Release of Superannuation program.

Early withdrawal of super for dental treatment, according to the ATO

There’s been little growth in other categories of compassionate release, like weight loss, IVF and preventing foreclosure of a house.

The Australian Dental Association’s Scott Davis says the trend may be due to the rising cost of living, or a hangover from COVID, when people delayed essential dental work.

Lasting consequences

A related industry also plays a role.

They’re facilitators who, for a fee, help dental patients navigate the paperwork to access their super.

One of these companies, Access My Super, boasts that it partners with 5,783 clinics and has a 100 per cent success rate with 53,286 applications to access super under the compassionate release program.

Yarra Capital Management’s Tim Toohey has analysed the figures.

“It seems as though all you need is two medical practitioners to help fill in the forms, and as long as you meet the criteria, the ATO is essentially approving these applications,” he said.

He says there are lasting consequences for those who withdraw their super decades early.

“If that same individual came back, say five years later, and withdrew another $20,000, you’re talking north of $260,000 of their future savings.”

Under the ATO’s rules, super can be accessed only if two medical reports say treatment is required to treat a life-threatening illness, to alleviate acute or chronic pain, or mental illness.

In the case of dental surgery, one of these reports can be from the treating dentist.

Concerns over access

In a statement to 7.30, the ATO said: “The process appropriately and necessarily relies on the professional ethics of medical providers to prepare accurate reports.

Zain Merhebe runs Supercare, another company that helps people access their super for a fee of between $480 to $580.

“Every single patient that comes to us, we ask them to seek independent financial advice. We make it clear: it will affect your retirement planning.”

He says Supercare assists only with mainstream medical procedures like weight loss surgery, dental, or orthopaedic surgery.

Tim Toohey says it appears that other companies facilitate access for cosmetic purposes.

One firm, Super Health Care, says it will help clients access their super to pay for hair transplants.

In its online advice, Super Health Care posts some Frequently Asked Questions:

Will this affect me later in life?

Negative! There are no penalties or fees for using your Super early, as long as you go through approved health providers with a treatment plan.

Super Health Co and Access My Super did not respond to interview requests.

The Australian Dental Association’s Dr Scott Davis says the compassionate scheme should not be used for superficial purposes.

“As a specialist prosthodontist I’ve been dealing with this for many years, and how I look at it is, you need acute or chronic pain, or significant functional disability, you know, can’t eat properly,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean you get veneers on your front teeth, you straighten your teeth, you get fancy dental treatment; you just get basic care, really, through this scheme.”

‘Felt like I couldn’t get any help’

Tully spent a decade building a civil construction company – but his teeth remained as a legacy of those rough early years.

He had chronic pain, couldn’t eat properly, was acutely self-conscious in business meetings, and couldn’t afford to pay to replace his wrecked teeth.

“I’d wake in pain, I wasn’t able to eat in the morning, I’d have to be very selective with what I had for lunch,” he said.

“I felt hopeless. I felt like there was no way to access any funding. Medicare wouldn’t help. My private health insurer deemed it to be a pre-existing problem. And honestly, it felt like I couldn’t get help.”

Dentist Ben Hargreave said Tully’s options were to have all his teeth taken out and replaced with either dentures or implants.

He says Tully was guided through the funding options, which included accessing his super.

“We’ll develop a treatment plan and then it’s handed off to a third party agent which uses the information, and then they see if super is even an option for those patients,” Dr Hargreave said.

“Once we’ve done our job as medical professionals, then it’s up to the third party agents to decide whether or not the patient is applicable for super.”

Tully was aware of the impact on his superannuation and was determined to proceed. So determined, in fact, that when he had all his teeth knocked out and replaced with implants, he remained awake.

He did not have enough money left in his super account to pay for an anaesthesiologist.

“I’ve had a hard run in life,” he said.

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