Ivory Insurance Bonus

Instead of posting the normal photo of the dentist's chair for this mornings 8:30 am appointment, thought a bit of a history lesson was more interesting.

Thought my appointment at that time of day would be first of the day. It wasn't, they start at 7:30 am. Only a short delay - was done & dusted by 9:00 having had the free annual teeth cleaning service and the doctor himself doing a full inspection. Nice when nothing found and it all is free of charge.

I think like the UK, dentists services under the national health service are fairly limited outside the basics. For adults in Germany basics, up to two checks per year,  Xray once every few years, fillings with amalgam etc are free. After that the bills start.

One way to reduce the cost is to keep a "Bonus Booklet" regularly stamped, at least once a year, which proves you have had your check-ups. The (national) health system then gives you a discount on the dentist's bill. One is free to get a quote from as many dentists as one wants and in certain cases, I believe the health insurance will give this discount if you have the work done in another cheaper country such as Poland, Hungary etc.

These are my two booklets detailing my visits since moving to Germany in 1990. Luckily I have for the most part had great dentists who don't seem to be too keen on doing unnecessary expensive treatment.