The High Authority for Health (HAS) ruled on Wednesday for the reimbursement of dental implants, a type of prosthesis deeper than crowns or dentures, which are already partially covered by Social Security.
The HAS, which assessed the “Implanto-prosthetic care” in case of missing teeth, “comes out today in favor of reimbursement for these acts in the general population”, she announced in a press release.
At present, Social Security only reimburses relatively light prostheses: dentures, when all the teeth are missing, and bridges and crowns when it is a question of replacing or concealing an isolated tooth.
Nearly a million implants per year in France
The implants go deeper. While a bridge, for example, simply rests on the surrounding teeth, an implant penetrates the gum. These implants are currently not reimbursed even though nearly a million will be carried out per year in France in 2023, according to figures from the HAS.
Or, “the number of people affected by the loss of one or even all of their teeth is likely to increase”, underlines the authority, therefore calling for reimbursement in the name of improving access to care.
The HAS, which gives recommendations independently of the government but is often followed by it, also sets a precise course of care in order to combat abuses from dental centers to “low cost”.
If these recommendations are followed, however, the question will arise of the exact extent of the support. Currently, the reimbursement of dentures is capped by Social Security, which effectively leaves a large part of it to the patient's mutual insurance company.
