What is the palatal plate in a dental prosthesis?
The palatal plate is made of plastic and covers the entire palate of the upper jaw between the rows of teeth. On the one hand, it is there to give support to the prosthesis, since the suction effect of saliva on the palate jaw creates a negative pressure that prevents the prosthesis from falling down. On the other hand, the palatal plate distributes the pressure load over a relatively large area so that the bone does not recede, because only loaded bone remains, unloaded bone recedes.
Is it also possible without a palatal plate?
Without a palatal plate, an upper jaw prosthesis is only possible if there are still at least 6 retaining elements that support it (teeth, implants, mini implants). If there are fewer teeth, the palatal plate must distribute the chewing pressure so that there is enough support. Without the palatal plate, the prosthesis would fall down with a smaller number of retaining elements and would not provide any support.
How much does a denture in the upper and/or lower jaw cost?
A prosthesis for an edentulous jaw costs about 400 Euro per jaw, for both jaws 800 Euro. The share covered by the health insurance is already included in the calculation. If the prosthesis is anchored to teeth or implants, this anchoring must be paid extra for a better hold.
An anchoring on still existing teeth with telescopes is relatively expensive, since each tooth must be provided with a metal telescope and the suitable counterparts, also made of metal, must be incorporated into the prosthesis. This treatment can cost several thousand euros, but promises a good hold and wearing comfort. If there are implants in the upper jaw instead of teeth, the implants have to be paid for privately in advance, but you should reckon with about 1000 – 1500 Euro per implant.
The superstructure that is placed over the implants must again be calculated with several thousand Euro, so that an implant-supported version often carries the value of a small car. Mini implants are slightly cheaper than normal implants. Locators are integrated into the prosthesis, so that the mini implants snap into the prosthesis using the key-lock principle.
This treatment can cost from 3000 to 7000 Euros, depending on the dentist. In the case of implants, the difference in costs is very large, since each dentist can determine the costs privately, since any form of implant is a purely private service for which health insurance companies do not subsidize anything. Only the prosthesis worn by the implants is subsidized, but not the implants themselves.
Patients insured with the AOK health insurance always get a part of the costs of their dentures reimbursed by their insurance company. Lost dentures always cost the insured person money when they want to replace them. The dentist sends the treatment and cost plan to the relevant health insurance company.
The insurance company processes the application, decides what percentage of the costs it will cover and then sends the completed application back to the patient. In this letter, the patient is told exactly how much money he or she has to pay. It pays off for those insured by the AOK to keep a so-called bonus booklet.
In this booklet, the dentist will record every check-up visit. If these check-ups take place regularly, the AOK will pay a higher fixed allowance in case of necessary dental prostheses. After five years of regular check-ups, the insured person receives 20 percent more fixed allowance, after ten years this amount even increases to 30 percent.
This fixed allowance always amounts to 50 percent of the standard care provided by the AOK. This means that if a patient no longer has any teeth in his or her mouth, the standard treatment is a dental prosthesis. The AOK always pays half of the cost of this dental prosthesis, unless a bonus booklet has been kept regularly.
In this case, the share of the costs for the dental prosthesis paid by the AOK increases. The health insurance company always pays this amount, even if the patient prefers implants, for example. Dental implants cost much more money, the difference between the standard dental prosthesis and the implants, the patient must pay for themselves.
The AOK offers the possibility of taking out additional insurance for dental prostheses. In the first year in which this supplementary insurance is paid, the insured person receives 250 euros in addition to the money that the AOK would have to pay for the regular care.In the second year of this additional insurance the insured gets already 500 euro additionally. From the third year on, the AOK will pay twice as much as the fixed allowance would have been.
So the patient gets double as much money from his dentures reimbursed. The monthly premium for this additional insurance depends on the age. For people over 60 years of age, 15, 60 euros per month are due.
If the income of an insured person is below a certain limit, a hardship application can be made by the dentist. In these cases the costs for the dental prosthesis are completely covered and the insured does not have to pay anything himself. Hartz4 recipients, for example, are below this limit.
They receive the standard care, a removable dental prosthesis, completely paid for. The Techniker-Krankenkasse (TK) has a similar cost regulation for a dental prosthesis as the AOK. As a rule, it always pays 50 percent of the standard care, i.e. for a patient without teeth a removable denture.
It is also true for the Techniker Krankenkasse that it pays to have regular check-ups at the dentist. After five years, the proportion of costs covered by the health insurance increases by 20 percent, after ten years of regular check-ups the proportion covered by the health insurance is 50 percent of the standard care and 30 percent more. The TK increases the subsidy it pays for dental prostheses if the insured person has a very low income.
If the insured of the TK is below the limit, the fixed allowance is doubled. The monthly gross income for this double allowance may not exceed 1. 134 euros for single persons, 1. 559.25 euros for a relative and an additional 283.50 euros for each additional relative. It is also possible to take out supplementary insurance with the TK.
