A few years ago I had a toothache. I popped some Tylenol (acetaminophen) and went to work. My tooth continued to ache so I popped some more Tylenol to get through the day. Later that evening a sharp pain went through my jaw and left me on the floor with pain. I got the addresses for dentists with night shifts in Munich and after popping more Tylenol than a normal person should take at one time (ca. 2000mg). I arrived at the emergency dentist at about 10:30pm. 

At registration, I described my pain and was told I would have to wait to see the dentist. There were maybe a handful of other people in the waiting room. By then the painkillers had kicked in. So I said, well actually it’s gone now. I think I’ll just go home and to bed. The nice lady looked at me and said if my pain was really as bad I had described, I would be back in the morning. I was already there now, so why not save the trouble and Fahrerei*? The conversation went on like this.

ME: Ok, if I stayed, how much would it cost?

WOMAN (surprised and confused): do you have health insurance? 

ME: Of course, I have health insurance. 

WOMAN (smiling): Well, then it will cost you nothing of course!

ME: Really?!

Cost Comparison

As a stupid American, I had avoided going to the dentist the entire day because I was afraid I would have to pay and spend hundreds if not thousands on a root canal and crown, for which both my mother and sister had to pay about $2,000 out of pocket. 

To my surprise, I didn’t need to pay at all to see the dentist. And ultimately I too needed a root canal. They flushed the tooth and killed the nerve to stop the pain and put in a temporary filling. I paid nothing. Later I paid 160 EUR for a root canal and another 300 EUR for the crown. The rest of the bill was paid by the health insurance.

Not perfect

Although I find 500 EUR to be cheap by comparison, many of my German friends did not. As much as I love the German health insurance system, I recognize that there is a two class system where the privately insured receive preferential treatment.

To get a root canal ASAP, I had to elect for more expensive treatments and “upgrades”, all of which are out of pocket. But it was worth it. My friend had a root canal, which was 100% covered by the health insurance but she had to go to the dentist on 3 different occasions. I sat in a funky chair that looked like it belonged in a Star Trek movie and thanks to portable digital x-rays, I was done in 75 minutes. 

I used to think back to that night and laugh. But it’s been a long time since I last thought about it. I don’t think about costs now. If I am sick or in pain, I think about more important things, like getting better.

*Fahrerei is one of those German expressions that are not easily translated. Here it refers to the tedious travel and time wasted in getting to a dentist, missing work, etc.