Note: This article is for general information purposes and does not replace individual dental advice.

Those who book regular appointments with their dentist will have good reason to smile later on. Anyone who can prove regular check-ups using the so-called Bonusheft (dental bonus booklet) receives a bonus from their statutory health insurer for various larger treatments. To qualify, you need to see your dentist in Düsseldorf at least once a year. At the end of the check-up, the dentist then records the visit in the bonus booklet.

Who should keep a dental bonus booklet?

The dental bonus booklet is not compulsory. However, it offers many advantages later on if it has been kept conscientiously. Every member of one of the various statutory health insurance funds is entitled to a dental bonus booklet. In many cases, it is worth real money. At some point, you may need a crown, a bridge, an implant or a removable denture. These can involve considerable costs, which not everyone necessarily has available at short notice.

To have at least part of the costs covered by the health insurer, you should attend a regular dental check-up. Among other things, the dentist can also show patients how best to care for their teeth. This, too, helps to prevent tooth decay and other conditions, which are often responsible for more extensive treatment. For that reason alone, every patient should have their teeth checked regularly. During these check-ups with dentist Dr. Pantas, a stamp can be entered in your bonus booklet straight away, which later serves as proof for your health insurer.

Does the dental bonus booklet need to be maintained?

Every patient receives a bonus booklet from the age of 12. Between the ages of 12 and 18, children and adolescents should have their teeth examined at least twice a year. Only then will they later receive the bonus from their health insurer.

Adults must attend such a check-up once a year to keep the bonus booklet complete without gaps.
The booklet should always be kept up to date. If you attend an appointment but forget to bring your bonus booklet, the entry can be added afterwards. Your dentist Dr. Pantas can confirm from his records that you did not miss the check-up and close the gap in your bonus booklet.
If you have forgotten an appointment and are therefore missing a stamp in your booklet, you must start a new bonus booklet at your next appointment. There is also a so-called hardship provision. If you would like to find out more about this, you should contact your health insurer.

How much does the bonus booklet contribute towards dentures?

How high the health insurer's subsidy ultimately turns out to be depends, among other things, on the so-called standard care (Regelversorgung — the standard treatment without any extras). This does not change even if a patient has special requests and, for example, asks for a more expensive implant instead of a conventional bridge. This involves considerably higher costs, which patients would generally have to pay to the dentist themselves. How much you can ultimately save with the dental bonus booklet, however, depends on the so-called fixed subsidy (Festzuschuss). This is determined by the various health insurance funds on the basis of a special catalogue in which the contributions for the different services are laid down.

For standard care for one missing tooth, the fixed subsidy is 60% — usually around 360 euros. Anyone who keeps their dental bonus booklet without gaps for five years receives 70 per cent (around 420 euros), and after ten years as much as 75 per cent (around 450 euros).

Where can I get a dental bonus booklet?

Patients can obtain the dental bonus booklet directly from Dr. Pantas in Düsseldorf or from their statutory health insurer. Simply ask at the practice reception or contact your insurer's hotline. The dental bonus booklet is free of charge for all patients.

What should I do if my dental bonus booklet contains an error?

If you notice an error in your dental bonus booklet, simply raise it with Dr. Pantas and his team. It may just be that a stamp was forgotten, even though the patient attended the check-ups regularly. In this case, the dentist can simply add the missing stamps or issue a so-called replacement certificate. If, however, the gaps arose because an appointment was missed or simply never arranged, the accumulated years may even lapse. This should be avoided as far as possible, as the bonus would otherwise have to be built up again from the beginning.

Lost your dental bonus booklet — what now?

If you lose your dental bonus booklet, you can have a new one issued at the dental practice in Düsseldorf. The reception team can see exactly in the system when you attended and will simply re-enter all your check-ups. To avoid this extra work, you should keep your bonus booklet in a safe place and only bring it along to your check-ups.