If you need a crown or an inlay, you quickly have to pay expensive bills yourself. Additional insurance can be worthwhile here. There is a large selection of "very good" tariffs.
Crowns, inlays, implants: In the case of expensive dentures, private supplementary insurance can be worthwhile. The statutory health insurance often pays less than 20 percent of the costs, as the magazine "Finanztest" calculates. Supplementary dental insurance can be worthwhile for anyone of almost any age who has statutory health insurance and wants to be prepared for expensive dental renovations. However, there is usually no insurance cover for treatments that are already pending.
If you want to take out insurance beforehand, you have a large - and good - choice. According to the testers, 111 out of 267 tariffs received the verdict "very good" for their denture services. The tariffs of all insurers on the German market whose offers are open to insured persons of all statutory health insurers were examined.
26 of these tariffs even received the top mark of 0.5. "Finanztest" recommends them for anyone who wants aesthetic perfection and all-round protection from their policy. Anyone who takes out one of these top-of-the-line tariffs at the age of 43 pays an average of 40 to 67 euros a month over the years - which is the case, for example, with the "E-ZP" tariff of Europe at 40 euros.
Anyone who can make more compromises and is willing to pay parts of the bill themselves, despite having insurance, is also fine with tariffs that Finanztest counts under the “Good and cheap” category. The long-term average of insured persons is 15 to 30 euros per month. Assuming the insurance is taken out at the age of 43, insured persons, for example, drive "very well" (27 euros) with the "EZ EZT" tariff from HanseMerkur.
If you take a pragmatic view of dentures, you can secure basic protection over the years for an average of 9 to 12 euros. However, insured persons are only entitled to their own share of the standard care. A "very good" standard supply is available, among other things, with the WGV tariff "Basis", with the Concordia tariff "ZE" (both 10 euros) or with the Nürnberger ("ZR) for 9 euros.
Background: The statutory health insurance company only participates in the so-called standard care when it comes to dentures, the article says. The health insurers pay a fixed amount for certain medical findings - regardless of whether you choose a simple metal bridge or an implant costing several thousand euros for a missing tooth.
"Finanztest" generally advises taking out insurance as long as the teeth are still in order. If it is already clear that a larger treatment will be pending, the insurers consider this to be treatment that has started - and they usually do not pay.
It is also important to answer all health questions honestly when applying. Otherwise there may be problems with the reimbursement later, even if you have paid contributions for years.
(This article was first published on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.)
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