Going to the Dentist

There is no need to be concerned about the quality of dental care, or any other kind of health care, in Germany. It's comparable in just about every way with the care you get stateside, and there are even some who think it's better. The Germans are very thorough, and do lots of testing.

There is no shortage of dentists in Germany, not even in rural areas. On the contrary there are, by just about any criterion, too many. There were warnings in the 1970s that not enough young people were studying dentistry, and the present surplus appears to be the result of an overcompensation. Of Germany's 59,000 dentists, 720 are even listed as unemployed.

And the situation isn't likely to improve any time soon. There are still too many dental students.

Since 1993 the state-run insurers have been barred from accrediting more dentists than have been statistically determined to be needed in their areas, no more than one per 2,400 population. There is no requirement that a dentist have this accreditation. But if he doesn't have it he can accept no state-plan patients and private patients are hard to come by in these days of a dentist surplus.

All this has led to some downward pressure on the prices they charge. The real income of the average dentist has declined since 1980. But shed no crocodile tears for them. Their average income is still two and one-half times that of all Germans.

So dental work over here remains expensive, especially if you don't have adequate insurance coverage. And German dentists have a reputation for claiming that a large amount of dental work must be done.

There may be some language problems but, as with educated Germans in general, many dentists speak some English and it shouldn't be hard to find one who can work with you. Ask your friends and business colleagues.

Dental emergency services are available throughout the country. You'll find a list of the numbers to call at dentists' offices, pharmacies, hospitals, police and fire stations and in the daily newspapers. There is also a telephone number, 110, that you can call in the event of a dental or any other kind of emergency.

Dental work can be covered by health insurance, but things are a bit complicated here so it pays to investigate. There are two basic kinds of health insurance in Germany, and both have provisions for covering some, but seldom all, of the costs of dental care. There are state-run plans (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) and private plans.

Insured persons, whether under the state-run or private plans, are covered for routine procedures such as simple fillings and dental hygiene. But major dental work, such as crowns and dentures, is only partially covered by the state plans. The patient will receive a bill for some of the work.

Privately insured persons may fare better with major dental work. But they should investigate carefully the type of dental coverage they have purchased. German companies usually limit the coverage new policyholders can receive. They probably will require a waiting period of eight months before they will make any reimbursements at all, and after that restrict their reimbursements to 60% to 80% of the total cost of major dental work.

Payments to dentists under the state-run plans are being cut in other areas too as part of a big government program to trim expenditures. This could well mean that if you have state-run insurance you could be left holding the bag for more of your dentist bill than before. It's a good idea to check with your state-run insurer and find out what sort of dental coverage it provides. You might want to purchase some inexpensive supplemental coverage from a private insurer.

Anyone faced with major dental work should get a detailed cost estimate (Heil- und Kostenplan) before any work is begun and submit it to their insurer for prior approval.