Health insurance knowledge base | 15.10.2025
What dental services does health insurance cover?
In Switzerland, health insurance rarely covers the cost of treatment by a dentist. An insurance expert explains when basic health insurance will pay and when it is worth taking out supplementary dental insurance. Also, discover the costs that you are likely to incur for the most common dental treatments.
What dental services does basic health insurance cover?
Basic health insurance covers dental costs only in legally stipulated exceptions. You are generally liable for the cost of check-ups, caries treatments, dental hygiene and prostheses.
Basic health insurance covers the costs only in the case of:
- Serious, unavoidable temporomandibular disorders
- Treatments required due to a serious general illness
- An accident, if no other accident insurance is liable
- Certain congenital disorders, if not covered by invalidity insurance.
The Health Insurance Benefits Ordinance stipulates which treatments are covered. Health insurers cannot expand or restrict this legally established list of benefits.
Whether or not the cost is covered by health insurance depends on the diagnosis. In the case of more extensive treatments, your dentist will create a cost proposal and submit it to your health insurer for review.
