About five million French people refuse to be treated for lack of money. But this figure is set to regress. From January 2020, some dental care will cost nothing because they will be fully reimbursed.

Two out of three dentists' unions accepted, on Thursday, May 31, 2018, to sign the new convention proposed by the Health Insurance, allowing the reimbursement to 100% of some prostheses, as promised by Emmanuel Macron in 2017.

According to the new text, the primary objective will be to promote prevention of dental care . A preventive oral exam will be reimbursed at 100% every three years , for people aged 3 to 24 (against 6 to 18 years old today).

The price of prostheses will be framed and capped , but in return the rates of care (caries, decalcification, devitalization ...) will be revalorized and new dental procedures will have to be created.

"Standard" prostheses fully reimbursed

Not all prostheses will benefit from "zero charge rest". Only metal crowns for the bottom teeth and white ceramic crowns for the front teeth will be fully supported. Currently, for one of these prostheses, the price is about 650 euros (sometimes more according to the dentists ). They are reimbursed up to 70%.

"The prostheses that we reimburse are of high quality (...) This is not at all low-end," said the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, Friday, June 1, 2018 on the air of Europe 1, after some criticism of the quality of the prostheses that will be fully reimbursed in the future.

If a patient wishes to have another type of prosthesis than those covered by this new agreement, he must instead pay from his pocket the surplus or turn to his mutual .

Some voices denounce a "low cost dentistry"

One union still misses the call: the Federation of Liberal Dental Trade Unions (FSDL), which is still opposed to negotiations and denounces "low cost dentistry".

The first measures of the agreement will come into force in early 2019, the establishment of the "zero charge rest" on the prostheses will begin in 2020 and must be accessible to all in January 2021.

By 2023, nearly half of dentures (46%) should be able to benefit from the full reimbursement, while a quarter will benefit from the "moderate dependent rest" with capped prices. The remaining acts (29%) will remain free of charge.