Healthy teeth are important, but dental work can be costly. The German dentistry system is semi-privatised, so depending on your health insurance and the type of treatment you need, you might have to contribute a (sometimes big) portion of the cost of any dental work. Many people therefore choose to take out supplemental dental insurance to protect themselves from high costs. ottonova walks us through the basics of this kind of additional coverage.
For expats (and non-expats as well) who aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of the dentistry system in Germany, it can be confusing having to consider which treatments are covered by their health insurance and which aren’t.
In a nutshell, the benefits catalogue of public health insurance - especially in the area of dentistry and dental prostheses - has been drastically reduced in recent years. Nowadays, only the costs for medically necessary and basic treatments are covered, including:
For any treatment beyond basic care, including complicated and cosmetic dentistry or extensive preventative examinations, the additional costs must be paid partially or entirely from your own pocket. Depending on the type of treatment you choose and the condition of your teeth, this can be quite expensive.
Supplemental dental insurance policies with ottonova start at just 8,80 euros per month
Plenty of people, therefore, choose to opt for supplemental dental insurance (Zahnzusatzversicherung), to cover these extra costs and take the stress out of visits to the dentist.
Additional dental insurance policies can be tailored to suit your personal situation and budget, with insurers taking on either part of or all of the costs of additional dental work - meaning you never have to budget for unexpected costs for dental treatments.
It’s important to note that supplemental dental insurance needs to be taken out in advance. If you have already started treatment, the costs will not be covered by your insurance policy.
There are lots of insurers out there offering additional dental insurance - so how do you work out which one to choose? Ideally, your supplemental dental insurance policy should cover four different areas:
Covering these four areas means that you’re prepared for a whole variety of situations that may come your way. Take a look at the chart below to get an idea of the possible costs you could face for different types of treatments, which are usually not or only partially covered by public health insurance in Germany:
ottonova, the first digital private health insurance company in Germany, also offers supplemental dental insurance policies, with transparent cost breakdowns, fully English-speaking support, and zero paperwork.
With ottonova, you can choose from three high-performance tariffs (Economy, Business and First Class), depending on your individual needs. Prices start at 8,80 euros per month. ottonova covers:
You can check out ottonova’s tariffs and coverage on their website, and easily calculate your own premium with just a few clicks.
ottonova also has many other customer perks to enjoy, including:
Arrange a non-binding consultation with ottonova’s English-speaking insurance experts to get answers to all your questions.