Descaling, devitalization of a tooth, treatment of a caries… Soon, this “conservative dental care” could cost more. At issue: an imbalance between dentists’ fees, highlighted by a recent report from the Social Security Accounts Commission.
What is the problem ? While dentists devote 42% of their time to these famous conservative treatments (30 million procedures per year, according to the Social Security Accounts Commission), these represent “only” 15% of their total fees. (1.5 billion euros).
Conversely, prosthetic care (the dental prosthesis) represent “only” 11% of care performed by dental surgeons (13 million procedures per year) … but account for 57% of total fees: 5.2 billion euros out of 9.1 billion.
Why such a difference ? For conservative or surgical care, dentists cannot freely set their prices: apart from certain exceptional cases (an intervention outside office hours, for example), no excess fees can be practiced.
25% of the bill falls on the patients
Conversely, when it comes to placing a bridge or braces, dentists can set the prices themselves. They therefore “catch up” on this type of care to compensate for a consultation fee that they consider insufficient. Race results: 4.8 billion euros in excess fees in 2015.
The Social Security Accounts Commission recalls that Health Insurance only reimburses 33% of dental care. Mutuals, for their part, supplement up to 39% … which leaves a little more than 25% of the price to be paid by patients. A bill that is sometimes unaffordable for some families.
In September 2016, the director general of the National Health Insurance Fund must open the work of their new medical agreement with the dental surgeon unions. The opportunity to restore balance by upgrading conservative care?
