Many people want to finance implants with dental insurance because health insurance usually pays little. What is the best dental insurance for you usually depends on many factors? This article will teach you how to find the plan that works best for you personally.
Not every patient can feel easy with a prosthesis or bridge. Here, implants can carry the dentures. Unfortunately, dental implants are not covered by statutory health insurance.
Dental implants you must pay by yourself. Some private dental insurance also covers the cost of implants, depending on the price list and insurance conditions.
Advantages and disadvantages of dental implants
Implants are high-quality dentures for individual teeth. But they can also attach entire prostheses to them. Since they are not reimbursed by statutory health insurers, understand the advantages and disadvantages of implants before you take out additional dental insurance for implants.
Benefits of Dental Implants
- If there is enough jawbone, dental implants can be placed almost anywhere in the jaw. This makes them the perfect alternative to bridges and removable prostheses.
- Healthy teeth do not have to be grounded down to support a bridge or anchoring crown for a denture.
- Dentures in the lower jaw rarely have a good hold. Here you can ensure a firm hold again.
- They greatly increase quality of life and chewing comfort.
- We can load implants like natural teeth.
- Under the best conditions, they can last a lifetime.
Disadvantages of dental implants
- In patients with periodontitis, we may lose implants. The jawbone continues to degrade here and can no longer hold the teeth or the implants.
- Also, dental implants are very maintenance intensive. Bacteria must not enter the gap between the implant and the gum. Tooth cleaning should therefore have be done regularly.
- They are also awfully expensive.
- The statutory health insurance fund only pays a subsidy for dentures that attach to the artificial tooth root.
Implants – what the statutory insurance pays for
The health insurances prescribe for each finding which care is sufficient and economical. These dentures call standard care. The health insurance company pays at least 50% of the average costs of this standard of care. This contribution calls a fixed grant. If the bonus booklet is complete, the grant increases.
Reduce the cost of dental implants with additional insurance
Many additional dental insurances cover the treatment with dental implants. However, you must pay close attention to the conditions when taking out your insurance. It is often worth comparing different insurers.
The benefits of supplementary dental insurance are often extensive.
Read everything carefully:
- It often limits insurance benefits in the first few years. Some must wait until they pay for something.
- Almost all dental insurance policies require a health exam. It excludes missing teeth and ongoing treatments. If you do not have an acute problem, however, there is nothing to worry about.
- If teeth are already missing, you must find out exactly whether they also insure missing teeth.
- Some providers ensure existing tooth gaps. However, this can increase the monthly fee.
What should you pay attention to when taking out additional dental insurance for implants?
Supplementary dental insurance can reimburse you for a large part of the excessive costs of implantations. If you want to take out additional insurance, you must pay close attention to the benefits of the tariff.
Attention: it does not include Dental implants in every tariff.
Check the percentage refund
Also, patients should ensure that the percentage reimbursement of the insurance is as high as possible. Values of 80% – 100% are desirable here.
Pay attention to the number of dental implants and the maximum amount
Depending on how many dental implants you need, make sure that private supplementary insurance only covers a certain number of dental implants. It is also important whether there is a maximum amount per implant.
Are additional costs covered?
Besides the implantation itself, the costs for accompanying services are often high. This includes, for example, a three-dimensional X-ray, the DVT. Without stress, the bones in the upper and lower jaws recede.
If patients want to fill a long gap with a dental implant, there is often not enough bone available. Then bone grafting is required, which is not cheap. It should also include this bone structure in the insurance policy.
Checklist for taking out private dental insurance
Patients can use this checklist to find the best dental insurance for themselves:
- Reimbursement regardless of statutory health insurance
- Implants included in the tariff
- Number of dental implants per jaw
- Is there a maximum amount that can reimburse per implant?
- Coverage of additional services such as DVT and bone augmentation
Also important:
- Waiting time available?
- Missing Teeth Insurance?
- What are the reimbursements for dentures and professional teeth cleaning?
Before you take out the additional dental insurance, speak to your dentist. He will not give you a recommendation, but he can tell you exactly which services you should value. He knows exactly whether your risk of tooth loss is high, and which dental treatments might be due in the next few years. He can also assess what dentures might be necessary.
You should ask your dentist the following questions before taking out additional dental insurance:
- Is my bone suitable for dental implants?
- Does a bone need to be built up for dental implants?
- Do I need a three-dimensional x-ray of my jaw?
- Should I expect excessive costs for fixed dentures?
- Should I expect excessive costs for removable dentures?
- Are reimbursements for plastic fillings, inlays, and professional teeth cleaning useful for me?
- Do orthodontic treatments make sense for me?
If you already have missing teeth, it is especially important to ask whether dental implants and dentures are reimbursed for existing gaps or whether it insures only healthy teeth. The monthly contribution of tariffs that ensure missing teeth is often more expensive.