Dispute with the cashier
Health insurance fails by cutting back on dentures
Updated June 2, 2026 – 8:42 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
If you go to the dentist regularly, you can save a lot of money. Even a gap in the bonus booklet can, under certain conditions, have no financial consequences.
Visiting the dentist is unpleasant for many people. Not only because of the fear of possible pain, but also because the treatment puts a strain on your wallet.
The health insurance companies only pay 60 percent of the costs for standard care for bridges, crowns and prostheses. However, if you go for regular check-ups and document this in your bonus booklet, you can increase the health insurance company’s fixed subsidy to up to 75 percent.
What is standard care?
Standard care is the standard therapy at the dentist, to which insured persons are legally entitled. This is determined by the dentists together with the health insurance companies. If you want more than the standard care, you have to pay for the additional services yourself.
A gap in the bonus booklet can remain without consequences
This is what the bonus booklet brings
A well-maintained bonus booklet can bring great financial advantages for patients, as the subsidy from the health insurance companies increases noticeably. There are two important periods:
- Evidence over five years: Adults aged 18 and over receive a subsidy of 70 percent of standard care if they have been to the dentist at least once a year within the last five calendar years before the start of treatment.
- Proof over ten years: Adults aged 18 and over receive a subsidy of 75 percent of standard care if they have been to the dentist at least once a year within the last ten calendar years before the start of treatment.
Reduction threatens
However, the federal government plans to reduce subsidies for dentures by ten percent as part of the reform of statutory health insurance. If the law is passed by the Bundestag in its current form, the maximum subsidy for bridges, crowns and prostheses would only be 65 percent in the future. However, since the general subsidy will be 50 percent in the future, the bonus booklet is still worthwhile.
