Dental chairs and equipment at the Docs Dental clinic in the exchange mall at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The clinic, which had its grand opening in October, is temporarily closed because of a licensing issue an insurance company raised. The practice expects to reopen in mid-July. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — A private dental practice that opened on Ramstein Air Base about eight months ago has temporarily shuttered to sort out additional licensing requirements, its parent company said this week.
The Docs Dental clinic closed on June 14, John Suggs, vice president of marketing and communications for the Pipersville, Pa.-based Docs Health, said in a statement Monday.
A receptionist who answered the phone Friday said that only the pediatric dentist was still able to see patients.
The closure was necessary after an insurance company notified the office that its U.S.-licensed providers would also need German credentials for reimbursement, Suggs said.
Suggs called the decision unexpected.
The company’s legal team, in consultation with German authorities and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, had “determined that as long as services were being provided on a United States military base, Docs only needed U.S.-licensed dentists to perform care at our facility,” he said.
Staffers at the Docs Dental clinic at the Ramstein Air Base exchange mall celebrate its grand opening, Oct. 2, 2023. Other than a pediatric dentist, the clinic is temporarily closed because of an unexpected insurance company requirement that U.S.-licensed dentists get German credentials, the company said. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein Air Base is part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which has tens of thousands of Defense Department personnel and their families and is the largest overseas American military community.
Suggs did not specify which insurance company had raised the licensing issue. But several people seen by Docs Dental spoke about their recent experiences on social media.
One person shared a screenshot last month of correspondence from United Concordia, which administers the Tricare Dental Program for active-duty service members and their families.
The statement referred to a claim submitted by a dental office at Ramstein. “At this time, we cannot verify the licensing eligibility for providers in this office to treat (Tricare) military families in Germany,” the message said.
Under the Tricare Dental Program, claims from unverified providers can be paid up to three times, the statement said, adding that after the third time, the enrollee is responsible for the cost.
German dental officials told Docs Dental when the practice sought to verify licensure compliance that they did not have jurisdiction over any office located on a U.S. military base, Suggs said.
The Docs Dental providers are licensed and credentialed in the U.S., Suggs said, and “have met Germany’s strict work permit requirements to perform as dentists in Germany.”
The practice expects to reopen in mid-July, with plans to see some patients in the interim, Suggs said. Germany-based providers employed by Docs Dental “are preparing their schedules to accommodate our patients with a few dates,” he said.
The office’s two U.S.-based providers are beginning the German credentialing process required by the insurance company, he said.
An AAFES concessionaire, the office in the mall sharing the exchange store is the first overseas Docs Dental clinic. It had six dentists, two hygienists and three dental assistants on staff when it opened in October, the practice said at the time.
The arrival of the clinic was expected to reduce dental appointment wait times, which can extend up to six months or more for even a checkup or cleaning because of a lack of providers on and off base that see Americans.
Docs Dental operates nearly two dozen offices on U.S. military bases stateside, according to the company.
