What is GOZ?
The fee schedule for dentists (GOZ) regulates the costs of dental services charged by dentists in Germany. All dental services that cannot be billed through statutory health insurance are billed through GOZ.
For example, suppose you opt for a high-quality denture instead of the denture covered by the public health insurance standard care. Then, the high-quality dental treatment is billed according to the GOZ fee schedule.
In addition, dental services like professional teeth cleaning or orthodontic services are also billed per the GOZ fee schedule.
What does the GOZ fee schedule look like?
In the GOZ fee schedule, dental services are assigned unique numbers. A score is assigned to these numbers. This score reflects the cost of a particular dental service.
Additionally, a factor is assigned based on the difficulty level of the patient’s dental treatment. The dentist determines this factor. This means that the costs of the same dental treatment can vary between dentists.
The maximum GOZ factor is 3.5. Dentists charge the maximum rate when they have to take special treatment measures that go beyond the usual scope.
NOTE: Dentists can charge the GOZ factor more than 3.5. However, they must notify you in writing before starting the treatment and provide a reason for charging a higher rate.
Supplementary dental health insurance only covers the treatment costs as per the GOZ fee schedule up to a maximum factor of 3.5.
How are the dental costs calculated per the GOZ fee schedule?
Here is how the dental costs are calculated per the GOZ fee schedule.
- Each dental service has a unique identification number. For example, the unique number assigned for professional teeth cleaning is “1040.”
- Each unique identification number is assigned a score. For example, the score assigned to “1040” is 28.
- The score is multiplied by a point value (Punkwerte) to get the basic fee. As of 2024, the point value is 5.62421 cents [1].
- The basic fee is then multiplied by a factor. The dentist can determine the factor based on the difficulty of the treatment. The factor can vary from 1 to 3.5.
- This gives you the dental cost of treating one tooth. So, you must multiply the cost by the number of treated teeth.
Dental cost = Score x Point Value (5.62421 cents) x Factor (1 to 3.5) x Nr of teeth
