Dental Treatment in France
Tuesday 03 March 2009
The cost of routine dental care in France is very modest, but if you seek more specialist treatment, going to your usual dentist may not be the cheapest solution.
Most dentists in France work within the framework of the French health insurance system. As the government controls most charges within the system, you will find that you should be able to get basic dental care in France at a reasonable price, and to a high quality.
Thus, the cost of a consultation with a dentist is €21, which is reimbursed at the rate of 70% by the social security system.
The treatment of minor tooth decay costs €19.28 at the official rates, of which 70% is reimbursed by the social security system.
A tooth extraction will cost €33.44, again reimbursable at the rate of 70%.
The cost of treatment for children less than 13 years of age is even lower, and France operates a regular system of free check-ups for all children aged 6 to 18 years.
However, once you go beyond basic treatment then things become a little different.
‘Thankfully, we had decent ‘top-up' health cover through a 'mutuelle’ wrote Eileen Collins, from Languedoc, who received a bill for over €2000 from her dentist. Eileen needed a bridge over three teeth, treatment for which she received only €400 from the health system. Her voluntary health insurer paid a further €900, leaving €700 to be paid directly from her own pocket.
Eileen’s experience is no different from most others, as the French health authorities have effectively disengaged from reimbursement of specialist treatment, allowing dentists to impose their own charges on such work.
The main premise behind this arrangement is to ensure that everyone can have access to basic dental treatment at a reasonable cost.
Dentists spend around 70% of their time on basic dental care, but it only accounts for around 30% of their income. Two-thirds of their income comes from treatment for which they set their own prices.
Whilst they are free to set their own prices for specialist treatment, they are required to do so with ‘tact and discretion’. As there is no definition in the regulations as to what these words mean, charges do vary widely.
Thus, the cost of a crown might vary from €400 to €1200, of which only €75.25 is reimbursable by the social security system. This is because the official tariff for a crown is €107.50.
The cost of a tooth implant could cost anything from €1500 to €3000, for which you will receive a reimbursement of €45.15 from the social security system!
On the assumption that you wish to use the dental treatment that is available in France there are really only three possible solutions to reducing the cost of such treatment.
In the first place, you should consider getting alternative quotations from different dentists. This might be easier said than done in rural areas, but if you face the prospect of expensive treatment that you can ill-afford, you need to get different quotes. A dentist who gives a quote lower than your own dentist is not necessarily going to offer you inferior treatment; they might simply be less greedy.
The second solution is to take a look at your voluntary ‘top-up’ health insurance policy to see whether you have sufficient cover for dental treatment. Most basic policies only offer to reimburse the 30% not covered by the social security system, and only at the basic rate.
Accordingly, if you want to cover some or all of the excess dental charges you are going to have to take out a more expensive ‘top-up’ health policy.
Whether it would make sense to do so, only you can judge, as the more expensive top-up policies can become very expensive, and you could find yourself paying out more in insurance premiums than is reimbursed to you for treatment you have received.
A more practical solution to that of buying a 5-star top up health policy is to obtain dental treatment from a dentist who is on a list of recommended dentists from your voluntary health insurer. These dentists will often offer lower prices to those who hold a policy with the relevant insurer.
You may even find that the dentist settles part of the charges directly with the insurer, leaving you to only pay directly that part of the charge not met either by the social security system or the insurer.
Some of these dentists are actually part of a wider network, who work together, and offer prices at a standard rate within a particular area. Perhaps the largest of these networks (and one of our own favourites, with whom we have no affiliation!), is Santeclair, a health service broker and intermediary with numerous voluntary insurers affiliated to them. Santéclair act on behalf of the insurers to negotiate rates with dentists, and they claim to have rates up to 30% lower than those generally used in the market place.
They also have a réseaux partenaires of over 3000 dentists in France, who have agreed to adopt their rates.
If your voluntary insurer is affiliated to Santéclair, their telephone helpline will appear on their paperwork. You can ring them to obtain assistance in finding a dentist near you who practices their tariffs. You may even find that your own dentist is on their list, but that you are not making use of the discounted rate available to you.
You can read more about dental treatment in France in our guide to French Health Care.
This article was featured in our Newsletter dated 03/03/2009
