Tooth sealing costs

The essentials in brief:

»A tooth seal enables small depressions to be sealed on the surface of a tooth (fissures).

»The measure has proven to be useful on broken molars, as they serve as a breeding ground for bacteria.

»For children and adolescents, the statutory health insurance company pays the costs of a tooth seal in full.

»Adult patients often pay for the measure independently, which can cost 40 euros per tooth.

»If the patient has supplementary dental insurance, the patient’s own contribution is reduced because the insurance usually reimburses 70 to 80 percent of the costs.

»Sealing healthy teeth offers the opportunity to save follow-up costs, for example in the form of caries treatment.

»A possible pre-treatment before sealing is at the patient’s expense.

A tooth seal can seal fissures in the tooth. These are depressions that look like furrows and can form on the occlusal surfaces of the molars. They are very narrow and cannot be cleaned with a toothbrush and therefore become a breeding ground for caries bacteria. The dentist can close these fissures with a tooth seal. Tooth sealing is particularly useful on the large molars, immediately after they have broken through. If this has been determined during the preventive medical check-up, it is recommended to seal the teeth within a few months. However, only after they have completely broken through into the oral cavity. However, experts themselves say that such a tooth seal only has a preventive effect. Caries that has already formed cannot be stopped. Children and adolescents are the primary target group for tooth sealing. It is possible to seal teeth at this age, even if a carious area has already been discovered, but the dentist has cleaned it beforehand. Many dentists also offer to seal milk teeth. However, there is controversy here because many experts do not consider this dental treatment necessary.

Adults can of course also have their teeth sealed if there is no caries. Tooth sealing has been used since the mid-1950s. The first clinical trials were conducted in the 1960s and in 1976 recognized by the American Dental Association as safe and effective as dental care. In Germany, tooth sealing was initially only recommended with reservations. The experience at that time was not sufficient for the SHI. Today the GKV is convinced that at least the teeth of children and adolescents can be effectively protected by a tooth seal. The reason for this is that the likelihood of carious teeth is not so high in children and adolescents. However, there is again controversy as to whether milk teeth need to be sealed or whether these are unnecessary costs for the health insurance company. Because milk teeth fall out sooner or later anyway. But a carious milk tooth can also infect neighboring permanent teeth with caries. Parents should consider carefully whether they should have the children’s teeth sealed as a preventive measure.

Assumption of costs by the SHI

Today, the expert opinion has changed significantly. However, everyone who intends to seal their teeth should check with their health insurance company about the status of the assumption of costs. For children and adolescents, the teeth are sealed completely by the health insurance company. This applies to young people up to the age of 18. It is worth knowing that the tooth seal lasts about two years. That means a teenager is 18 years old, should he get the protection for the teeth again in any case. If the dentist recommends adult teeth sealing, this must be paid for out of pocket. The GKV assumes no costs for this. You then have to calculate around 40 euros per tooth, which the dentist charges. For a complete set of teeth with 32 teeth, this treatment costs 1280 euros. It also applies to adults that a new seal of the teeth is necessary after a good two years. If the teeth are stressed, this can happen earlier.

Supplementary insurance pays 70 to 80 percent

However, every legally insured patient should read the terms of their dental insurance, which they hope they have taken out. Depending on the tariff, the insurance companies cover these costs and the patient can feel like a private patient in this case, because private health insurance naturally reimburses such costs to the private patient. And if this supplementary insurance would only cover 70 or 80 percent of the costs, this would mean considerable relief for the household budget with an amount of up to approx. 1280 euros. If the patient has taken out additional insurance with a cost guarantee of 100 percent, this will of course cover the entire up to 1280 euros that are incurred for the tooth sealing. Tooth sealing of the entire dentition is usually not carried out in adults. It is mostly single teeth.

If the price of tooth sealing for adults is also high, it is generally worth investing in tooth sealing. Because thanks to the seal, caries bacteria have little chance of penetrating and multiplying. Of course, not all 32 teeth in the bit need to be sealed. In particular, it is worth sealing the teeth, which are still completely healthy. Thanks to the sealing of the teeth, you can save a lot of follow-up costs. When comparing the tariffs for supplementary dental insurance, it should be noted that the dental seal is included in the contract, i.e. it is one of the costs that the insurance company pays when it is used. Supplementary insurance is the only way for adults to have their teeth sealed cost-effectively.

Possible pre-treatment is at the patient’s expense

It should be noted that the teeth to be treated are completely free of caries before the teeth are sealed. It is of course also possible for adults to have these teeth removed from caries first. This is made possible by caries infiltration. The insured person must bear the costs resulting from this. The health insurance does not share the costs. The cost of this treatment is around 100 euros per tooth surface. With appropriate dental treatment in the interdental spaces, it becomes a bit more expensive. Here it costs 120 euros per tooth. Ultimately, this pretreatment also costs the patient a lot of money. If these costs are added to those of the tooth sealing, the question arises whether the tooth sealing is really sensible or economical. On the other hand, it turns out that carious teeth can cause even greater damage to the tooth, which then costs the patient even more money.

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more on the subject

Patient information for fissure sealing (Federal Dental Association)

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WHO WRITES HERE?

Michael Mitterer
Dentures cost expert

✔ for 10 years
✔ researched thoroughly
✔ including statistics

DENTAL REPLACEMENT COST STUDY:

DENTAL REPLACEMENT COSTS:

∅ Dental prostheses cost between 500 and 2,000 euros

∅ The dental crown costs 500 to 1,200 euros

∅ Dental implants cost between 900 and 4,100 euros

∅ The dental bridges cost between 300 and 2,500 euros

OUR STATISTICS SAY:

∅ 62% consider getting dentures from abroad.

∅ 63% find the dentures hardship case fair.

∅ 10% had to take out credit for dentures.

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