Reimbursements for private dental care
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Can you get reimbursement for private dental care?
You can get reimbursement for the following:
- oral and dental care provided by a dentist or specialist dentist
- laboratory tests and x-rays prescribed by a dentist or specialist dentist.
You can get the reimbursement already at the place of care. The reimbursement is deducted directly from the price of the treatment. You can get direct reimbursement from places of care that have an agreement on direct reimbursement with Kela. You can also claim the reimbursement later.
You can get reimbursement for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, if the examination has been prescribed by your specialist dentist.
You can get reimbursement for oral and dental examination performed by a dentist every second calendar year. However, you can get reimbursement once per calendar year, if your health status requires this. In such a case, the dentist will inform Kela about it.
War veterans and persons having served in mine clearance operations
Oral and dental examinations are reimbursable more than once per calendar year for front-veterans and persons who have served in mine clearance operations and who have been awarded one of several qualifying official recognitions. Additionally, they can be reimbursed for treatments of a longer duration.
Front-veterans and those who served in mine clearance operations qualify for reimbursement also for:
- clinical procedures and technical work in connection with prosthodontic treatment
- complete denture care provided by a specialist dental technician on the basis of a referral by a dentist.
You can get reimbursement for examination and treatment provided by a dental hygienist, if a private dentist has prescribed them.
You can get reimbursement for orthodontic treatment for example when it necessary because of a cleft palate or upper or lower jaw deficiency or excess, or if you have significant congenital abnormality in the growth or development of the jaw.
Kela does not normally reimburse costs connected with dentures.
Only front-veterans and persons who have participated in mine clearance operations can get reimbursement for
- clinical procedures and technical work in connection with prosthodontic treatment
- complete denture care provided by a specialist dental technician on the basis of a referral by a dentist.
Trips to private-sector providers can be reimbursed if the treatment you are getting is reimbursable by Kela or if you have a payment voucher or service voucher for the treatment from your wellbeing services county.
Read more about reimbursement for trips to private healthcare services.
You can seek dental care in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland and get reimbursement for the costs for the treatment.
You can also get reimbursement if you need emergency dental care in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland.
You cannot get reimbursement for
- costs for dental care in public healthcare services
- costs for cosmetic procedures (e.g. tooth whitening)
- costs for prosthodontic treatment (only front-veterans and persons who have participated in mine clearance operations can get reimbursement)
- costs for periods in which you are being treated in a public hospital or institution.
Reimbursement is also not available for instance for office charges and outpatient clinic charges, facility charges or Kanta charges.
Costs for private dental care have no cap on out-of-pocket costs
The costs for private dental care have no cap on out-of-pocket costs, i.e. annual deductible. The user fees in public healthcare services have a cap on out-of-pocket costs per calendar year, but the costs for private dental care are not included. Read more about the cap on out-of-pocket costs (stm.fi, in Finnish).
Note, however, that travel costs and medicine costs have a cap on out-of-pocket costs.
How much is reimbursed?
You can get reimbursement for the costs for private dental care according to the relevant reimbursement rate. Different treatments and examinations have their own reimbursement rates (pdf, in Finnish).
Your dentist charges EUR 70 for a basic examination of the mouth lasting up to 20 minutes. The reimbursement rate is EUR 30, i.e. your reimbursement is EUR 30. You pay EUR 40 yourself and any administrative charges.
Treatment provided by a dental hygienist: Your dental hygienist charges EUR 90 for periodontal treatment lasting at least 45 minutes. The reimbursement rate is EUR 18, i.e. your reimbursement is EUR 18. You pay EUR 72 yourself and any administrative charges.
Claiming reimbursement for costs for private dental care
Usually you get the reimbursement for examinations and treatment provided by a dentist in private practice directly at the place of care. If this is not the case, you can claim reimbursement from Kela afterwards.
- Fill in the form Medical care expenses incurred in Finland, SV 127e (PDF).
- Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the claim directly in the browser, because some of the information may not be saved that way.
- Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
- Save the completed form to your device. Note that the claim must be in PDF format.
- The claims form includes information on the supporting documents you need to send.
- Send the application via the OmaKela e-service:
- Log in to the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) and select Tee hakemus (File a claim).
- Select Sairaanhoito, hammashoito, matkat ja lääkkeet.
- Select Sairaanhoito-, hammashoito- tai lääkekorvaus – tee hakemus.
- Select the claim on your device and press Lähetä (Send).
- When you send your claim online, you do not need to sign it.
- If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your claim. If they are paper documents, you can photograph or scan them.
- Visit OmaKela to see if your claim has been decided, how much you will get and when the reimbursement will be paid. You will also see reminders of, for instance, supporting documents missing from your claim. The decision notice will also be sent to your home address unless you have opted out of paper mail.
If you cannot use OmaKela, send your claim to Kela by post. Save the form Medical care expenses incurred in Finland, SV 127e (PDF) to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
When to claim
You must claim reimbursement within 6 months from the date of paying the costs.