Options and costs for dental prosthetics

At SBK, you receive comprehensive consultation and various options to reduce costs for dental prosthetics.

When fillings can no longer save your natural tooth or when you lose a tooth due to an accident, dental prosthetics become necessary. Depending on the extent of the tooth loss, one or more teeth may need to be replaced. On this page, we provide information about common types of dental prosthetics, different materials, how you can obtain dental prosthetics, how to reduce costs, and what benefits you get with us.

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Dental prosthetics – your benefits

Your personal SBK consultat will advise you on alternative pricing and treatment options for dental prosthetics.

Detailed information on the properties of certain materials or alternative treatment options can be obtained from the expert team of the SBK Health Telephone

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Dental prosthetics at a glance

After an accident or if fillings can no longer save your natural tooth, your dentist will discuss various options with you. Depending on the extent, a root canal treatment might be necessary, or teeth might need to be replaced to maintain chewing and speaking functions.

Whether it's a crown, bridge, implant, or prosthesis: before the treatment begins, you'll first receive a treatment and cost plan, which must be approved by us. Due to legal regulations, we can usually only cover part of the costs; you as a patient will also need to contribute.

Types of dental prosthetics:

Bridge: A bridge fills a gap between two or more teeth lost due to tooth loss. The adjacent teeth serve as pillars, onto which anchor crowns are fixed. These teeth must be healthy for the bridge to be attached. Between the anchor crowns, there are one or more bridge sections that replace the missing teeth. If there are no adjacent natural teeth, a bridge can also be anchored onto implants.

Implant: An implant is an artificial tooth root anchored directly into the jawbone, replacing missing tooth roots. Both crowns and bridges or prostheses can be secured on implants. Implants offer the possibility to provide a single tooth or even a completely toothless jaw with dental prosthetics. With proper care, implants typically last a lifetime. Dental implants are a private service and are paid for out of pocket. They are generally not covered by statutory health insurance.

Crown: While smaller tooth defects can be treated with a filling, larger defects require a crown to replace the missing tooth substance. Crowns are used when part of the tooth is missing, for example, due to a break or decay. Crowns are typically made of ceramic, metal, or gold.

Prosthesis: Prostheses replace missing teeth and are also known as removable dental prosthetics, as they can be taken out by the wearer. There are full (total) prostheses, which replace all the missing teeth in one jaw, and partial prostheses, which only replace some missing teeth. Prostheses are primarily made of plastic, often in combination with a metal framework.

Overview of your planned treatment and estimated costs

Together with your dentist, you decide which type of dental prosthetics is right for you. Once you've decided on a specific form of dental prosthetics, your dental practice will prepare a treatment and cost plan, which will be electronically submitted to us for approval. Your dentist will inform you about the planned treatment with the corresponding patient information. After electronic approval of the treatment and cost plan, we will inform you as usual by mail.

In some cases, you may receive a paper treatment and cost plan. This is the case if your dental practice is not yet participating in the electronic process. Please send us this paper treatment and cost plan in its original form by mail. Here’s our address and a prepaid envelope.

Submitting your bonus booklet

Your bonus booklet, where your dental check-ups are documented, can be easily uploaded via the Meine SBK app. Alternatively, you can send it to us by post along with your treatment and cost plan. Feel free to use our prepaid envelope for that. The bonus booklet can also be used digitally within the SBK patient file. This depends on the technical setup and the connection to the telematics infrastructure of the respective dental practice. If you're interested, simply ask your dental practice if they can provide the bonus booklet electronically. The prerequisite is that you use the SBK patient file.

Submitting bonus booklet

Total treatment costs: Your SBK subsidy and private costs

Total treatment costs: Your SBK subsidy and private costs
We will contribute a statutory fixed subsidy toward your dental prosthetics, depending on the diagnosis. This fixed subsidy amounts to 60% of the costs for medically necessary treatment, known as standard care. If you choose a treatment beyond this, such as a gold crown instead of a metal one, you will have to cover the additional costs yourself.

You can reduce your costs by regularly visiting dental check-ups and documenting them in your dental bonus booklet. Your SBK subsidy will increase to 70% for treatment and cost plans if you can prove dental check-ups for the past five calendar years before the start of your treatment. It will increase to 75% if you can prove ten years of check-ups.

Example for standard care with dental prosthetics costing €1,000

Bonus	Cost distribution
Without bonus	SBK subsidy: €600 personal costs: €400
Bonus with 5 years of documented dental check-ups	SBK subsidy: €700 personal costs: €300
Bonus with 10 years of documented dental check-ups	SBK subsidy: €750 personal costs: €250

Increased SBK subsidy for insured individuals with low income

If you have a low income, the SBK subsidy can increase up to 100%. This depends on the income of all individuals living in your household. You will also receive the higher fixed subsidy if you receive social assistance or citizen's income. Feel free to contact your personal SBK consultat for assistance. You can find the contact details here.

Monthly gross income limits for 2025:

Single person: €1,498

Person with one dependent household member: €2,059.75

Person with multiple dependent household members: For each additional family member, the amount increases by €374.50

Options to reduce your personal contribution:

Through a dental supplemental insurance, you can reduce your personal contribution for dental prosthetics. Special offers for SBK-insured individuals can be found on the dental supplemental insurance page.

Through our cooperation partner DentNet, you have the opportunity to receive free standard care or discounts on dental prosthetics. More information can be found on the dental treatment with DentNet page.

Are you not tied to your dental practice? Then simply use the price comparison portal from MediKompass. More information can be found on the price comparison with dentists page.

How to get dental prosthetics:

Treatment and cost plan (paper version): You will receive a treatment and cost plan from your dentist. Please send us this original version by post before the planned treatment. Our address and a prepaid envelope can be found here.

Digital treatment and cost plan: Alternatively, and in most cases, we can approve the treatment and cost plan electronically: Your dentist will only need to provide you with a patient information sheet with the planned costs. The approval of the treatment and cost plan will then occur directly between the dental practice and SBK.

Your bonus booklet, where your dental check-ups are documented, can be easily uploaded in the Meine SBK app or sent along with your treatment and cost plan by post.

We will then calculate your SBK subsidy. You will usually receive information about your SBK subsidy within a few days after we receive the documents (by post or digitally). Note: For your safety, we occasionally select planned extensive treatments for dental review in order to assess scope and costs. This requires a personal examination by a qualified dental practice. If this applies to your planned treatment, we will inform you accordingly.

The dental treatment then begins. Depending on the type and extent of the dentures, this may require several appointments.

Billing process:

The SBK subsidy is settled directly by the dental practice with your SBK healthcare card. All costs that you have to cover yourself will be billed directly by the dental practice.

For an alternative treatment, such as an implant, the entire treatment will be billed directly to you. In this case, you can easily upload the invoice in the Meine SBK app after treatment or send your documents by post. Here’s our address and a prepaid envelope. We will then reimburse you for the agreed SBK subsidy.

If you have private supplemental insurance, you can submit any private costs to your supplemental insurance after treatment. If you have a dental supplemental insurance with our cooperation partner ARAG, we will be happy to handle this for you.

Warranty on dental prosthetics: Every dentist is required to provide you with fully functional dental prosthetics according to German standards. Upon placement of the dental prosthetics, you will receive a 24-month warranty. Your dentist is required to make any necessary corrections during the warranty period at no charge. You are obligated to cooperate in case any defects arise so that they can be resolved.

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Reduce your costs for dental prosthetics with a price comparison via MediKompass

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Medical advice around the clock

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