Even the hardest-working cleaners and flossers are not necessarily immune to the need for dentures one day. The reasons are many and so are many options, both local and financial. All of this will be reflected in the following guide.
Why dentures?
Decades of appearances by dentists in elementary school classes, advertising, product development and preventive appointments have had one effect: Germany's need for dentures for "reasons of age" is decreasing.
As the Fifth German Oral Health Study shows, only one in eight younger senior citizens (between 65 and 74) or 12.4% today needs a full denture.
For comparison: in 1997 it was 24.8%, every fourth member of this group. That is a very respectable number in itself, but it becomes even more impressive when you consider that there are more senior citizens in this age segment today than there were back then.
However, even the most careful handling of your own teeth does not protect you from losing teeth anyway. Caries and periodontitis are still the most important tooth destroyers, but there are also reasons that have nothing to do with poor hygiene:
- Accidents (falls, blows, blunt violence)
- Poisoning (e.g. by mercury)
- Deficiency diseases (scurvy)
- diabetes
- Rheumatic inflammation
- osteoporosis
- Bacterial diseases
They all can result in the need to replace one or even all of the teeth. And then good advice is often literally expensive.
The role of insurance
The problem is that both tooth preservation and dentures are comparatively expensive for what they "provide". Of course, a missing canine, for example, is not particularly beautiful and also limits the quality of life. However, and this is the decisive point, it is not a really life-impairing disease, nor is it one that, if left untreated, will get worse until life is threatened.
In addition, the teeth are, even after today's reduced numbers, one of the biggest widespread diseases in Germany, mainly due to caries, but a disease that rages indiscriminately in all social classes and age groups. And, as mentioned, the treatment is expensive. Not only that replacements generally have to be made. It also has to be adapted to the jaw, which is different for practically every person, and fixed there in an elaborate manner. An unbelievable effort, comparable to a full-blown abdominal surgery.
High frequency, high prices, a bad combination - which in 2005 already overwhelmed the coffers so much that they implied a fixed subsidy system. Since then, every dental diagnosis has its own code and a fixed value that is subsidized (read: paid by the health insurance company). Those affected have to do the rest themselves - currently it's a whopping 50 percent.
And the problem with it is that the benefits paid are always just standard care. A “good enough” solution but not one that restores the affected teeth “like new”. If you need a bridge, for example, you get it uncovered as a loose implant according to the standard set - in plain language steel or titanium, to be fixed with adhesive cream or metal bracket and only provided with a ceramic cover corresponding to the tooth color in the visible front area at the expense of the cash register. If you don't want to show when yawning that your molars are already replacements or want to risk your incisor bridge falling out due to too violent laughter, you have to dig deep into your pocket.
It is of no use that the regular maintenance of a health care booklet can further reduce personal contributions - because even with ten years of "good management" and six-monthly checks, between 35 and 40 percent of the costs are still hanging on the patient.
Alternatives
In view of these facts, since the introduction of this system in 2005, a number of possible aids have been established. Above all under the condition that dentures can quickly run into the thousands or even tens of thousands due to the complexity of the procedures and prostheses mentioned.
Hardship regulation: Even people who belong to the middle class today often fall into a financial hole in old age because the current pension level after deducting all costs is just 44.7 percent of the last wage. This is where the hardship rules of the health insurances come into play: Anyone who has a gross monthly income of less than 1190 euros (married couples living together 1636.25 euros) does not have to pay an own contribution for dentures. This group is expanded by social welfare, Hartz IV, and basic security recipients. But even those who only slightly exceed the income limit have a good chance of at least receiving a subsidy from their health insurance fund for the normal 50 percent provision.
Loans: Even the fifty-fifty portion of standard care and even more complex treatment methods can put a household that does not belong to the lowest earners into a financial dilemma, which requires additional funds to be able to bear the treatment costs . A practicable option is to rely on institutes that do not carry out a Schufa query - because even a query can negatively affect your own grade, especially a loan taken.
Supplementary insurance: Practically everything can be insured, including your own contribution to replacing your teeth. Supplementary insurance is currently literally a dime a dozen, often at a low monthly cost of around ten euros. But where there are so many, careful selection is necessary. Because the very affordable offers only take over treatments - and generally not in the first months after signing the contract and only if they are notified before the start of treatment. In addition, it should be ensured that other services such as tooth cleaning are included in the insurance - because prevention is always better than treatment.
Treatment abroad: The last option is to take advantage of the fact that dental treatments - with otherwise the same quality - are often considerably cheaper abroad than in Germany. It is precisely this market that dental clinics in Poland and Hungary have recently discovered for themselves. The advantage: Payment is exactly the same as going to a German dentist. The foreign doctor creates a healing plan, which has to be approved by the health insurance fund, and then starts. The insurers also like this option because it not only lowers the real costs of the co-payment, but also their costs.
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