Are braces covered?

What the law says

A standard orthodontic treatment falls under none of the LAMal’s three dental exceptions: it is neither the consequence of a serious illness nor indispensable for treating one. Basic insurance therefore does not cover it.

The exception concerns congenital conditions on the official list — certain cleft lip and palate cases, certain jaw development anomalies. Those fall to disability insurance until the child turns 20, then to LAMal. The diagnosis must be made and recognised: it is not the orthodontist’s judgement call.

What it actually costs

A full course runs over two to four years and is billed in stages. It is one of the heaviest health costs a Swiss family faces, and it almost always lands on siblings within the same few years.

• ✓Assessment and treatment plan: CHF 300 to 600.
• ✓Removable appliance: CHF 2,000 to 5,000.
• ✓Fixed braces, full treatment: CHF 8,000 to 15,000.
• ✓Retention after treatment: CHF 500 to 1,500.

When to take out cover, and why so early

Supplementary dental policies do cover orthodontics, often at 50 or 75 per cent, with a ceiling per case or per year. But they all impose the same condition: the contract must exist before the need is known.

In practice, cover taken out once the orthodontist has made the diagnosis is worthless — the insurer will exclude the treatment. The families who fare best take out cover in the child’s first years, before the permanent teeth even come through. That is the only moment when the insurer has nothing to exclude.