How much do crowns, bridges and implants cost in Germany, and what does public insurance pay?

Total costs and fixed subsidies of public health insurance, 2026.

Statutory health insurance (GKV) does not pay for a material or method, but for your diagnosis. For each diagnosis a simple standard solution is defined, the standard treatment (Regelversorgung). You get a fixed amount towards it, the fixed subsidy (Festzuschuss).

If you choose something better, such as a white ceramic crown instead of metal or an implant instead of a bridge, the subsidy stays the same. You pay the extra cost in full.

The subsidies rise slightly every year. On 1 January 2026 they went up by just over 4 percent.

The table shows typical total costs and your share without a bonus booklet. The ranges are wide because lab work, material and region move the price a lot.

If you go for a check-up every year and have it stamped in your bonus booklet, you get 70 percent after five years without gaps and 75 percent after ten years. For a bridge that is around EUR 140 more.

Newcomers to Germany start with an empty booklet and therefore at 60 percent. Ask your dentist for a booklet at your first check-up. If you miss a year, counting starts again. Many funds allow one gap in ten years, ask yours.

Dental work can be cheaper abroad. Within the EU the fixed subsidy can be paid if your fund approved the treatment and cost plan (Heil- und Kostenplan) before treatment. Outside the EU the German fund usually pays nothing for planned dental work.

Follow-up work and complaints are harder from a distance. Clarify with your fund in advance what it needs, and keep all bills and the plan in a translated form if they are not in German or English.

With a low income, for example when receiving citizens' income (Bürgergeld), basic income support or student grants (BAföG), the fund pays the standard treatment in full. You still pay the extra cost of better solutions yourself.

You apply to your fund, ideally together with the treatment and cost plan.

Supplementary dental insurance (Zahnzusatzversicherung) is worth it if you want implants or ceramics and no treatment has been recommended yet. Good tariffs reimburse 80 to 100 percent together with the public subsidy.

It makes no sense if the dentist has already planned the treatment, because then no tariff pays. If you only want the simple standard treatment, your own share is often lower than the premiums over the years.