After amalgam ban

Dental fillings remain free, but not for everyone!

Amalgam is being banned as a filling material - now there is finally a solution, albeit only with one health insurance company and even there with cutbacks.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

After amalgam fillings were banned at the end of the year, the struggle to find a free alternative proved to be difficult. An agreement was reached just before Christmas, but not for all patients in the country.

While no solution has yet been found with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), the Insurance Institution for Public Employees, Railways and Mining (BVAEB) and the Dental Association have now reached an agreement on amalgam fillings after all.

From January 1, 2025, the filling materials glass ionomer cements and alkasites will be covered by health insurance instead of amalgam, which will be banned from that date.

The long-term health effects of chronic exposure to amalgam are scientifically controversial. It is assumed, for example, that they continuously release small amounts of mercury.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Agreement with a drop of bitterness
The negotiations were "long and intensive", according to a statement from the Dental Association on Friday. The tariffs are now based on the previous amalgam replacement tariff for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to the age of 15. Composite in the posterior region will remain a private service, it said.

Over the course of the coming year, there will also be talks between the BVAEB and the Austrian Dental Association (ÖZÄK) about revising and modernizing the existing fee schedule - with a particular focus on root canal treatment, oral hygiene, consultations and denture repairs.

Chamber: Possible "blueprint" for other health insurance funds
In its press release, the Chamber of Dentists appeals to the ÖGK and the Social Insurance for the Self-Employed (SVS): the agreement could also "be a blueprint for other health insurance providers". According to the chamber, only stone cement is covered by the contract for normal fillings in the posterior region for its insured members, while glass ionomer cement is only covered by the health insurance for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to the age of 15.

All other materials are private services. The ÖZÄK is "always available" for discussions.

Dentists fear for their income
The ÖGK has not yet reached an agreement with the ÖZÄK. The health insurance fund would have been prepared to pay 20 percent more than before for amalgam-free fillings, although it is pushing the relatively new white material Alkasit, which has been tried and tested in outpatient clinics. The Dental Association, on the other hand, only wanted to accept the glass ionomer cement, which is inferior in terms of material technology, as free of charge for patients; the professional association believes that everything else should be a private service.

ÖGK chairman Andreas Huss had expressed his anger at the beginning of December and announced that he would offer dentists individual contracts bypassing the chamber.

ÖGK wants to resume negotiations quickly
In reaching an agreement with the BVAEB, the Austrian Dental Association had "given up its medically incomprehensible blockade stance on Alkasit as a high-quality amalgam substitute", according to the ÖGK, which sent out a positive signal in a press release. The professional association should resume talks with the social insurance.

Currently, amalgam-free fillings are available at the 61 dental health centers owned by the insurance companies at the expense of the health insurance companies. In addition, agreements on a tariff have been reached with private dental clinics. As of January 1, insured persons in nine outpatient clinics in Vienna will therefore also receive fillings at health insurance costs.