What aligners cost and what health insurance covers
Aligners are never standard care – not for children, and even less so for adults.
Aligners are not part of standard care under statutory health insurance. This applies even when a child's treatment is otherwise covered in full: the insurance covers the intended appliance, the aligner is a private additional service. You pay the difference.
What determines the price
The number of aligners, and that depends on the extent of the correction. Treating only the visible front teeth takes far fewer than treating the whole arch. Add to this the planning, the check-up appointments and, at the end, the retainer.
What the treatment and cost plan must state
- the total number of planned aligners
- what happens if corrections are needed afterwards – and whether that is included
- whether the retainer is included in the price
- what happens if you discontinue the treatment
The fourth point is the most often overlooked and the most expensive.
Beware of flat rates from advertising
Offers with a fixed amount and no examination refer to a simple case. Whether yours is one, nobody knows before someone has looked inside. Only a written plan after the examination is binding.
The essentials at a glance
- Aligners are never standard care – not even for children whose treatment is otherwise covered by statutory health insurance.
- The price depends on the number of aligners, and therefore on the extent of the correction.
- The treatment and cost plan must state: the number of aligners, later corrections, the retainer and the consequences of discontinuing.
- Flat rates from advertising apply to simple cases. Only a plan after the examination is binding.
Answered briefly
Frequently asked questions
That depends on the policy. Many private insurers and supplementary policies reimburse orthodontic treatment in part, some with maximum amounts or age limits. Submit the cost plan before treatment begins and get the commitment in writing.
Because a separate aligner is made for each stage of treatment – often twenty, thirty or more. On top of that comes the digital planning. The fixed brace, by contrast, works with the same brackets from start to finish.
That depends on the agreement. Some offers include a certain number of additional aligners, others charge for each one individually. Ask about this before you sign – follow-up corrections are common, not the exception.
Many practices offer this, sometimes through an external provider. Pay attention to whether interest is charged and what happens to the remaining instalments if the treatment is discontinued.