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Does supplementary dental insurance pay for fissure sealing?

In short

Does supplementary dental insurance pay for fissure sealing? Many tariffs do, at 75 to 100 percent depending on the level. For children aged 6 to 18, German public health insurance pays for the large molars 6 and 7 anyway. For all other teeth, and for adults, you pay yourself: under the dentists' fee schedule usually EUR 11.64 to 17.72 per tooth.

Does supplementary dental insurance pay for fissure sealing?

What it costs

Cost per tooth under the fee schedule and usual refunds, as of November 2026.

ExampleTypical range
Sealing per tooth, single to maximum rateEUR 5.06 to 17.72
Sealing per tooth, standard 2.3 times rateEUR 11.64
Invoice including examination or fluoride treatment, per toothabout EUR 12 to 18 and more
Refund in supplementary dental tariffsabout 75 to 100 percent

Amounts from the dentists' fee schedule and publicly quoted figures, as of November 2026.

What your tariff pays exactly and whether a prevention budget applies is stated in its terms.

Worked example

Child aged 12, all back teeth are to be sealed

The practice recommends sealing the premolars as well as the large molars. This is how the cost is shared.

Large molars 6 and 7, four in each jaw8 teeth, paid by public health insurance
Premolars, four in each jaw8 teeth, private
8 teeth × EUR 11.64 (2.3 times rate)EUR 93.12
Supplementary tariff paying 100 percentEUR 0 own share
Supplementary tariff paying 75 percentEUR 23.28 own share

Without a supplementary tariff the parents pay around EUR 93 themselves, with one between EUR 0 and around EUR 23.

What public health insurance pays for children

Fissure sealing means coating the grooves on the chewing surface of a back tooth so that decay cannot start there. People in German public health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) who have turned six but not yet eighteen are entitled to fissure sealing of the molars (§ 22 (3) SGB V). This means the permanent large molars, teeth 6 and 7. Only fissures and pits that have no decay yet are sealed.

The details are set by the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss) in its guideline on preventing dental disease in children and teenagers. You pay nothing for this; the insurance card is enough.

CaseWho pays
Child aged 6 to 17, molars 6 and 7 free of decaypublic health insurance
Child, small back teeth (premolars)private; supplementary tariff depending on its terms
Child, milk molarsprivate; supplementary tariff depending on its terms
Adults, all teethprivate; supplementary tariff depending on its terms
Fissure already decayedno sealing, a filling instead

What sealing costs privately

Dentists bill private sealing under number 2000 of the dentists' fee schedule (Gebührenordnung für Zahnärzte, GOZ) at 90 points per tooth. With a point value of 5.62421 cents that is EUR 5.06 at the single rate, EUR 11.64 at the usual 2.3 times rate and EUR 17.72 at the maximum rate of 3.5.

Under the fee schedule the practice may charge more than the 2.3 times rate only in special circumstances. If an examination, cleaning or fluoride treatment is added, the invoice rises accordingly.

When supplementary dental insurance steps in

Many supplementary dental tariffs (Zahnzusatzversicherung) class fissure sealing as prevention. Basic levels refund about 75 percent, higher ones 100 percent.

To be honest about the sums: sealing alone does not justify a contract, since a tooth normally costs EUR 11.64. It matters as one component of a tariff you take out for dentures, fillings or orthodontics.

Step by step

  1. Ask the dentist which teeth are to be sealed and which of them public insurance covers.
  2. For privately billed teeth, ask for a cost estimate showing the fee number and the rate multiplier.
  3. Look in the terms of your supplementary tariff to see whether sealing is named and whether a prevention budget applies.
  4. Check the waiting period and age limits in the tariff.
  5. After treatment, submit the invoice to your supplementary insurer.

Checklist

  • Public insurance benefit for teeth 6 and 7 used before the 18th birthday
  • Privately billed teeth shown with fee number 2000 on the invoice
  • Any rate above 2.3 explained by the practice
  • Fissure sealing expressly named in the tariff terms
  • Refund rate and any budget limit in the tariff known

Common mistakes

  • Letting the 18th birthday pass, after which public insurance no longer pays
  • Taking out a supplementary tariff for the sealing alone
  • Assuming public insurance pays for all back teeth although it only covers 6 and 7

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does public health insurance pay for fissure sealing in adults?

No.

It pays only for insured persons from their 6th to their 18th birthday.

Adults pay themselves or through a supplementary tariff.

Which teeth does public insurance seal?

Only the permanent large molars 6 and 7, provided their fissures and pits are free of decay.

Premolars and milk teeth are a private service.

What does fissure sealing cost per tooth?

Under the fee schedule EUR 5.06 to 17.72, normally EUR 11.64.

With an examination or fluoride treatment it comes to more.

Does supplementary dental insurance for children pay for sealing?

Many children's tariffs do, some at 100 percent.

What counts is whether sealing is named in the terms.

Is supplementary dental insurance worth it for sealing alone?

No.

The cost is a few euros per tooth.

A tariff is worth it for dentures, fillings or braces; sealing is an extra.

Are there subsidies with fixed braces?

Some public insurers refund smooth-surface sealing during an approved treatment with fixed braces,

for example up to EUR 50.

Ask your insurer.

Sources

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