Medical bleaching is a procedure that dentists perform after root canal treatment when a tooth has become grey or even black on the inside due to dead roots. Although the tooth can be saved, it often looks unsightly. However, with endodontic treatment, the tooth can regain its natural colour. Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide is used, usually at a concentration of 30 to 35%. In purely cosmetic bleaching, however, the dentist only uses a concentration of 6%. Products for home use contain as little as 0.5% hydrogen peroxide.

The costs for medical bleaching can be covered by the health insurance company if it means that the affected tooth does not need to be crowned. This would be significantly more expensive. Dentists bill the health insurance company for medical bleaching using GOZ number 2445a (internal bleaching due to medical necessity in accordance with the fee schedule for dentists), as prescribed by the German Dental Association.

How much does bleaching at the dentist cost?

Prices vary depending on the type of treatment, as we explain in more detail in another post. If it is purely cosmetic teeth whitening, it is a purely aesthetic measure that has no medical necessity. In this case, neither the health insurance company nor private insurance will contribute to the costs. Patients can choose different bleaching methods from the dentist and decide how many teeth they want to have treated. For example, if only the front teeth are to be whitened, this can reduce the costs. The exact type of treatment is partly determined by the dentist, but patients of course have a say.

In some cases, the teeth can be severely discolored, especially in smokers. In such cases, the costs increase because the dentist uses a stronger bleaching agent and a more complex method. The costs for bleaching at the dentist can start at around 300 to 400 euros, but can also be up to four-figure amounts (up to around 2,200 euros) if many teeth are bleached individually and with highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

What does private supplementary dental insurance offer?

Private supplementary dental insurance, including private health insurance with dental insurance, can cover 90% or even 100% of dental treatment costs (depending on the tariff), including aesthetic solutions. However, this does not apply to bleaching (at least not to cosmetic bleaching), but rather to, for example, replacing a broken tooth that looks aesthetically impaired. There are other aesthetic dental treatments, some of which can be privately insured. As of 2022, however, no German insurer is known to cover cosmetic bleaching.

What bleaching methods can the dentist suggest?

We will also go into this in detail in another article. There is basically internal and external bleaching. The medical bleaching already mentioned is an internal method in which the dentist puts the bleaching agent inside the tooth to give a dead tooth its natural color back. This method is covered by health insurance (see above). With external bleaching, a gel with hydrogen peroxide is applied to the teeth and the dentist irradiates it with laser light to accelerate the reaction.

There is also a similar method for home bleaching, which uses LED light instead of laser, as it is safer for home use. Patients must wear protective goggles at the dentist. However, there are other methods of external bleaching that patients should seek advice about.