Skip to content

Insurance broker / Insurance questions / Dental insurance

Does dental insurance pay for a night guard?

In short

Does dental insurance pay for a night guard (Aufbissschiene)? Often it does not need to: if the splint is medically needed, for grinding or jaw joint problems, your statutory fund pays after approval. A dental top up (Zahnzusatzversicherung) matters when the dentist bills privately, for example jaw function analysis and more complex splints, often 250 to 600 euros in total. Its terms decide.

Does dental insurance pay for a night guard?

What it costs

Fees under the official dental fee scale (GOZ), point value 5.62421 cents.

ExampleTypical range
Adjusted splint, GOZ 7010, 800 points, 2.3 timesabout 103 euros without lab
Simple splint, GOZ 7000, 270 points, 2.3 timesabout 35 euros without lab
Clinical function analysis, GOZ 8000, 500 points, 2.3 timesabout 65 euros
Lab costs for a splintabout 150 to 350 euros

Fees calculated from GOZ points and point value.

Lab costs and totals are guide values from quoting practice, October 2026.

We check what your plan pays in its terms.

Worked example

Private splint with function analysis

A patient grinds at night and wants a function analysis first. The dentist bills privately.

Clinical function analysisabout 65 euros
Splint fee, GOZ 7010about 103 euros
Lababout 150 to 350 euros
Two check ups with grinding inabout 40 to 60 euros

About 360 to 580 euros in total. With 80 percent cover, about 70 to 115 euros remain. Guide values from quoting practice.

What your statutory fund pays for a night guard

The statutory catalogue (BEMA) includes fitting an adjusted bite splint. It is indicated for jaw joint disorders, jaw muscle pain and habits such as grinding. This means individually adjusted splints, for example the Michigan splint.

The dentist may bill this night guard to your fund only after the fund has confirmed cost cover. Check ups and adjustments are also covered.

ServiceStatutory fundPrivate, GOZ 2.3 times
Adjusted splintcovered after approvalabout 103 euros plus lab
Simple splint without adjusted surfacefor acute painabout 35 euros plus lab
Clinical function analysisnot in the catalogueabout 65 euros
Instrumental function analysisnot in the catalogueseveral hundred euros depending on scope

When it becomes private

Private billing applies to services outside the statutory catalogue, mainly function analysis, where the dentist measures bite and jaw joint, and more complex splints.

Ask for a written cost plan first and send it to your dental top up before the splint is made.

What the dental top up pays

Whether dental insurance pays for a night guard depends on its terms. Look for words like functional analysis and functional therapy (funktionsanalytische und funktionstherapeutische Leistungen) or bite splints (Aufbissbehelfe). Some plans count them as treatment, some as dentures, some exclude them.

Usual limits apply: caps in the first years, waiting periods and no cover for treatment already recommended when you signed.

When you do not need a top up for it

If you only need a grinding splint and it is medically justified, the fund pays. Taking out dental insurance just for a night guard rarely pays off.

If symptoms have already started, a new contract usually comes too late.

Step by step

  1. Ask whether the splint is possible as a statutory benefit.
  2. If private, get a written cost plan.
  3. Send the plan to your top up before treatment.
  4. Check the terms for function analysis and splints.
  5. Compare caps and waiting periods.

Checklist

  • Statutory cover checked
  • Private agreement in writing
  • Plan names functional therapy or splints
  • Cap for this contract year is enough
  • Treatment not recommended before signing

Common mistakes

  • Paying privately although the fund would have paid
  • Signing a top up after the dentist already recommended the splint
  • Sending the bill without asking for approval first

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does my statutory fund pay for a grinding splint?

Yes, if medically indicated and the fund confirmed cost cover beforehand.

Does every dental top up pay?

No.

Some pay analysis and splint, some do not.

What does a private night guard cost?

About 103 euros fee at 2.3 times rate plus lab, often 250 to 450 euros in total.

Is a splint counted as dentures?

Each plan classifies it differently, which decides the percentage and cap.

Does a shop bought guard count?

It is not an individually adjusted splint and is normally paid by neither the fund nor a top up.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request a quote: Dental insurance

We compare insurers and come back to you, in English.

Free; the insurer pays our fee.

1Who is it for?
2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

3Details

Dental insurance in Germany

Wisdom teeth and gaps closed by braces do not count

For example gum treatment, since when you have had German check-ups

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Related questions

Your broker: Norman Nammert, trading as NAMMERT.

Insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act.

Broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH is a separate company.

It does not arrange your contract.

Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated

Was this useful?