Dental health insurance in Luxembourg: reimbursements and comparison 2026

What the CNS reimburses for dental care

The Caisse Nationale de Santé (CNS) is the mandatory health insurance scheme in Luxembourg. For dental care, it covers a fixed annual allowance of €79.22 at 100% for adults (since 1 May 2025). This allowance covers routine dental care, excluding prosthetic treatments. Beyond this allowance, the CNS reimburses 88% of the official rates for adults and 100% for children under 18.

For dental prosthetics, the reimbursement rate is 80% of official rates — rising to 100% if you have attended a dentist each year for the past two years for a preventive check-up. Certain prosthetic procedures require prior authorisation from the Social Security Medical Inspectorate (CMSS), particularly when the masticatory coefficient is below 50%. Dental implants are not covered by the CNS, except in very rare medical cases (anodontia, oligodontia, sequelae of maxillary tumour).

Source: CNS Luxembourg — Dental care — Rates as at 1 May 2025 — Updated in September 2026.

Why are dental out-of-pocket costs so high?

Out-of-pocket dental expenses in Luxembourg can quickly reach several hundred or even several thousand euros. Three factors explain this: CNS official rates that do not always reflect the actual cost of treatment, procedures excluded from the schedule of fees (implants, adult orthodontics, certain advanced techniques), and fee surcharges permitted for certain procedures marked DSD (Dépassement Selon Devis — quote-based surcharge).

Here are a few concrete examples. An all-ceramic crown typically costs between €600 and €1,000 depending on the dental practice in Luxembourg. The CNS official rate for an all-ceramic crown is roughly €350. The CNS reimburses 80% of this rate (around €280 at best). Your out-of-pocket cost therefore ranges from €320 to €720 per crown. For a three-unit bridge, expect €960 to €2,160. For a complete implant (implant + abutment + crown), the bill can reach €1,500 to €2,500, of which only the crown is partially reimbursed by the CNS.

Dental insurance: what it actually covers

Supplementary dental insurance in Luxembourg kicks in after the CNS reimbursement to cover all or part of the remaining balance. The mechanism always works in a cascade: (1) the dentist bills for the treatment, (2) the CNS reimburses its share, (3) the insurer reimburses all or part of the remaining cost, up to the contractual limits. Dental cover falls into four main categories.

Comparing DKV, CMCM, Foyer and AXA dental plans

The four main supplementary health insurance providers in Luxembourg are DKV Luxembourg, CMCM, Foyer (medicis) and AXA (OptiSoins). Their approaches differ considerably: CMCM publishes transparent limits with no medical questionnaire; DKV offers three plans with increasing levels of cover and a medical questionnaire; Foyer and AXA cover actual costs with detailed conditions set out in their general terms.

Sources: CMCM statutes, DKV IPID, Foyer medicis IPID, AXA OptiSoins IPID — consulted in September 2026. Exact limits and conditions are set out in each insurer’s general terms.

CMCM Denta & OptiPlus is the most transparent offering on the Luxembourg market: caps are clearly published in the statutes. The Denta & OptiPlus module is taken out on top of the Régime Commun and PrestaPlus. For routine care, the cap is €1,000/year (mouthguard, inlay, other). Prosthetics allowances (cap €3,500/year) break down by procedure type: fixed crown €450, inlay/build-up €200, metal skeletal base €450, resin plate €200, clasp/attachment €150. Supplementary dental allowances include: composite filling €125/year, pulpectomy €100/year, root planing €100/session (max €200/year), periodontal surgery €700/year. The module also covers adult orthodontics (€2,000/member, one-off) and child orthodontics (€500/child, procedures DT41–DT45).

DKV Luxembourg offers three plans — COMPACT HEALTH, PLUS HEALTH and EASY HEALTH — with increasing levels of cover. All three include dental care, prosthetics, implants and orthodontics. COMPACT HEALTH covers professional scaling up to €75/year. The plans also include a daily hospital allowance (€30/day for COMPACT HEALTH and PLUS HEALTH; €20/day for EASY HEALTH). DKV reimburses at actual cost according to its general terms — exact amounts vary depending on your profile and plan.

Foyer medicis confort covers dental care at two levels depending on whether the CNS is involved: 100% of the remaining cost as a top-up to the CNS, and 50% where the CNS does not contribute. Foyer includes a professional scaling allowance of €50/year. Prosthetics and implants follow the same mechanism (100%/50%). For orthodontics, medicis confort offers cover of up to €3,200 over 48 months — one of the highest caps on the market for this item. The hospi+ plan (lower tier) covers orthodontics up to €1,600 over 48 months. AXA OptiSoins operates on a modular basis — precise dental caps vary according to the chosen plan and should be checked in the general terms or via a personalised quote.

Prosthetics and implants: reimbursements and limits

Prosthetics and implants are the costliest items in dental care in Luxembourg. Here is how reimbursements break down between the CNS and supplementary insurance for the most common procedures.

Indicative prices observed at Luxembourg dental practices — September 2026. Prices vary by practitioner, materials and case complexity.

Dental implants are a special case: the CNS never reimburses the titanium screw itself (except in very rare medical cases: anodontia, oligodontia, sequelae of maxillary tumour). However, the prosthesis fitted onto the implant — crown or bridge — may be partially reimbursed by the CNS at 80% of the official rate, i.e. around €280 for a crown on an implant. With CMCM Denta & OptiPlus, you also receive a €500 implant allowance, bringing total reimbursement to around €780 on a full implant billed at €2,000.

Supplementary insurance annual caps reset on 1 January each year. If you need several crowns, spread the treatment across two calendar years to maximise reimbursement. For example: 3 crowns fitted in November/December + 3 crowns fitted in January/February the following year — giving you the benefit of two annual prosthetics caps.

Adult and child orthodontics: what is covered?

Orthodontics are covered by the CNS under two cumulative conditions: treatment must begin before the child turns 17 (date the brace is fitted), and it must be carried out with prior authorisation from the Social Security Medical Inspectorate (CMSS). The reimbursement rate then depends on age at the time of billing: procedures billed before the age of 18 are reimbursed at 100% of the schedule rate, while those billed after 18 are reimbursed at 88%. A full orthodontic treatment for a child costs between €3,000 and €7,000 in Luxembourg, depending on complexity. If treatment begins before 17 and most procedures are billed before 18, CNS cover can be virtually complete.

For adults and treatments started after the age of 17, the picture is very different. The CNS reimburses almost nothing for adult orthodontics. The cost of adult orthodontic treatment ranges from €3,000 (short-term aligners) to €8,000 (complex multi-year treatments). Without supplementary insurance, these costs are entirely yours to bear. CMCM Denta & OptiPlus offers a one-off allowance of €2,000 per member for orthodontic treatment started after 17 — a significant benefit, provided you have not already used this allowance. For treatments started before 17, CMCM offers up to €500 per child on top of the CNS (procedures DT41–DT45). DKV includes orthodontic cover in its plans for treatments diagnosed before 17 — for other cases, check the general terms or request a personalised quote.

How to choose your dental insurance

The right choice depends on your dental profile, family situation, age and budget. Start by having a dental assessment with your practitioner: what treatment is foreseeable over the next 3 to 5 years? Are implants being considered? Is orthodontic treatment underway or planned? On that basis, compare the limits and conditions of the available plans.

Waiting periods: what you need to know

Waiting periods are intervals during which you pay your premiums but cannot yet claim certain benefits. For dental care, these exist to prevent adverse selection: taking out insurance solely because you know you need an imminent implant, then cancelling after treatment.

Source: CMCM statutes and DKV Luxembourg general terms — checked in September 2026. Waiting periods for Foyer and AXA are not published online — check their general terms before enrolling.

CMCM: if you have never been a CMCM member, the waiting period is just 3 months for all dental items (Denta & OptiPlus). However, if you were previously a member and cancelled, re-admission carries a 36-month waiting period for Denta & OptiPlus. In practice, if you re-enrol after cancelling a few years ago, you will not be covered for prosthetics and implants until 36 months later.

DKV: if you switch supplementary insurer and have been covered for dental care for at least 8 consecutive months with your previous insurer, DKV waives the dental waiting periods. This is a valuable provision: if you switched from CMCM to DKV after 2 years with CMCM, you would be covered immediately with DKV. Condition: provide a certificate from your former insurer proving the duration of cover.

Frequently asked questions about dental health insurance