Dental care after cancer treatment

There’s no denying it: cancer has a huge impact. Even for people who overcome the disease. Despite promising results, chemotherapy is an intensive treatment. It doesn’t only affect cancer cells, but can also cause damage to organs and parts of the body, including your teeth. Proper dental care afterwards is essential. The good news? You don’t have to face it alone.

Dental problems caused by chemotherapy

Chemotherapy has a major impact on the body. It can also affect your teeth. For some cancer patients, the damage to the teeth remains limited. In other cases, however, the cost of restorative treatment can be significant. People with head or neck tumours, for example, are often confronted during their recovery with damage to the upper or lower jaw. Unfortunately, this kind of damage cannot be resolved with just a few visits to the dentist.

Fortunately, in such situations you can rely on government support measures. Patients who are severely affected may qualify for full reimbursement of their dental care.

Reimbursement after a cancer diagnosis

There are three groups of patients who can apply for full reimbursement of restorative dental care. These include:

• Patients with severe damage to the jawbone as a result of a tumour or radiotherapy.
• Patients who suffer from tooth loss or serious dental abnormalities following an adverse reaction to stem cell therapy.
• Patients under the age of twelve who experience tooth loss or serious dental abnormalities after chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

It’s best to check with your dentist whether you qualify for reimbursement.

How does government reimbursement for dental care work?

If, as a cancer patient, you are entitled to full reimbursement, your dentist must register expensive treatments such as dental bridges, dental implants and dental crowns under the third-party payer system. Through this system, the government pays the cost of your dental care directly to your dentist, even if you are treated by a non-contracted dentist. This means you do not have to cover the costs yourself and do not need to pay anything upfront. For more information about your specific situation, you can contact the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance.

Extra cover with Dental insurance Dentalia Up

Because cancer has such a major impact on a person’s life, the additional Dental insurance Dentalia Up offers extra support for dental care for cancer patients. If you are covered by Dentalia Up and experience dental problems due to cancer, you can count on reimbursement of up to €4,000. This applies from the first year after you join, provided the cancer diagnosis was made after taking out the Dental insurance. There is therefore no waiting period for reimbursement of dental care for cancer patients.

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