My rights at the dentist
The dentist owes you first and foremost professional treatment. In addition, there are other patient rights in the dental practice, which we have put together for you at a glance.
You have the right to comprehensive, understandable oral advice from the doctor for every upcoming examination or treatment. Written information or information from the specialist staff cannot replace this advice.
The dentist has to inform you about all aspects of the treatment such as risks, alternatives and aftercare including the costs. He should give you enough time to think about it. Advice must be given at eye level and not already lying in the treatment chair.
As a statutory health insurer, you are entitled to benefits that are covered by the statutory health insurance. Cash benefits correspond to the current technical standard and offer adequate dental care.
The dentist cannot refuse a cash benefit for economic reasons, for example by pointing out that the cash benefit is underpaid.
You are entitled to a written list of all expected costs on the part of the dentist and the dental technician (labor costs, material).
Important: In the case of people with statutory health insurance, the dentist is obliged to provide information about private costs in text form. If he fails to do so, the legally insured person is entitled to refuse subsequent payment.
In the case of private costs, you have the right to a proper invoice in accordance with the requirements of the fee schedule for dentists (GOZ). The dentist must list the fee number, the rate of increase and the service description for each service on the invoice. If the rate of increase of 2.3 is exceeded, the dentist must justify this in writing on the invoice.
As long as you have not yet received an invoice, you do not have to pay for the service.
However, there is no deadline for accounting. So dentists have the right to bill the patient even after many years. The question of which period may be between the provision of services and invoicing depends on the individual case.
You have the right to keep your personal data confidential. When calling from the waiting room or on calls to the practice, you can dispense with a personal name if you wish, to ensure the highest level of confidentiality about you and your treatment.
A common annoyance is the unsolicited transfer of treatment documents to private medical clearing houses without the patient’s consent. These service providers handle the billing and collection of payments for the dentist; In these cases, the dentist transfers his claim to the clearing house.
The following applies here: You must give your written consent to the transfer of your treatment documents to a private clearing house for the purpose of invoicing. If there is no written consent, patients are entitled to refuse payment to the clearing house.
The transfer of treatment data to an external laboratory also requires the patient’s written consent, unless the data has been anonymized beforehand.
You have the right to inspect your treatment documents in the practice. The right of inspection relates to all information required by the doctor and his staff to be documented. This includes information on the medical history, diagnoses, examinations and treatments carried out, including their results.
You can request copies of your treatment records at any time. The dentist may charge you the copy costs for this, which may not exceed 50 cents per page.
The claim also applies to x-rays. Here you can even request a temporary return of the original X-ray images if this is necessary in the event of further treatment by another dentist (see Section 28 (8) of the X-ray Ordinance). The purpose of this regulation is to prevent the patient from being exposed to radiation again by the treatment provider.
You have the right to stop treatment at any time without giving a reason. If the treatment is chargeable, you only have to bear the costs incurred until the treatment was stopped. In the event of defects in the treatment result, the dentist is obliged to rectify them.
Important: In the case of treatment in which the health insurance company also bears the costs, you should also inform the health insurance fund if the treatment is terminated. In this way you can ensure that the costs are also borne by another dentist for further treatment.
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