Dental charges

All medical practitioners are allowed to charge whatever they want.
However the minimum which they MUST charge for each procedure is set by law as is the amount which will be refunded by your mutuelle. These rates are on www.riziv.be. This is in Dutch but there is a link to the equivalent French site.
And never believe anyone who tells you that 'this isn't covered by the mutuelle'. Insist on a receipt for your money and let the mutuelle tell you if it isn't covered.

@bunburyist

I would love to know how you justify this comment.
I've been here almost 25 years and have regular check-ups and whatever work needs doing. I see a dentist at least once a year and have never had a problem with the cover offered by my mutuelle - everything is always covered and I have certainly never had supplementary insurance.
If you are paying well over the standard rate to a dentist who sees unwary expats as a cash-cow, that is not the fault of the mutuelle.

I'm sorry Kaisserstamper I disagree dental cost here are much higher than in the uk the main difference is you aren't covered by a general plan you do need extra cover for many things. That said you can always see a dentist immediately and also they will do stuff as needed not on a cost by cost basis as they do in the NHS.
A crown in the uk max cost is about £500 here easily €2000
My first experience was a dentist who told me massive lies about the cost of dental implants so that I wouldn't go elsewhere as she didn't do them and made me a hideous metal contraption that cost me well over €1500 didn't fit so Food got Stuck Above it caused damage to my other teeth wand went in the bin because it was so horrible.
Didn't explain I wasn't covered by general mutelle insurance even thought she knew i had literally been here for a few months and would not be covered.
On the last visit said OH no the mutelle doesn't cover this you need private insurance, and of course they won't pay out if you claim too much too soon.
She basically lied to me in order to make me spend a fortune with her most of which was profit in her pocket and didn't clearly explain cost implications to me up Front.
So my suggestion is get a clear explaination from any dentist what will
This cost what will the mutelle pay what must I pay before you open your mouth for any work

Tr I'd also recommend visiting the dental hospital in leuven for any complex
Work like teeth extraction, they see you fast and because it's a big hospital you're not Subject to a premium for a private practice. Plus yes I did send the bills I mentioned above to the mutelle who Sent them back with an a not covered letter. So beware any dentist

Bridge work, root canals and braces are not general dental work but specialist stuff.

I've only ever had general dentistry done, ie annual check-ups, replacement fillings and xrays.

My complementary insurance covers my general work described about over 90%. My dentist is conventionne. I cannot check the last costs I paid as Partenamut website is offline, but from memory the annual check-up and detartrage cost about 60 euro and it was 100% refunded on that occasion.

If I knew I was going to undergo non general work like braces or root canal, I'd be doing the maths to see whether a dental insurance would cover more of the costs. Dental insurance also has its limits, so it might not be worth it.

Dentalia Plus is a really good idea and not very expensive (around €35 quarterly).

Dentalia Plus has a 6/12 month obligation to contribute before you can claim and is limited to 1250 maximum claims per year, so you need to weigh up the the costs V chances of claiming. It will be worth it for some but not others.