What is the difference between EMR and ASCA?

Both are Swiss quality registers that certify professional groups from complementary medicine and dental hygiene by comparable criteria. In practice they resemble each other closely. EMR has the broader recognition in Switzerland, while ASCA is accepted by some insurances additionally or as an alternative.

Do I need EMR recognition for my dental hygiene to be reimbursed?

That depends on your supplementary insurance. If your tariff has an EMR or ASCA clause, the session is only reimbursed when the hygienist who treats you is listed in the required register. Which recognition your insurance requires is set out in your policy conditions. If in doubt, ask your insurer or ask us.

Are the dental hygienists at Resident EMR-recognised?

Yes. Our dental hygienists at all six locations have completed the higher professional examination HF and are EMR-registered. The receipt you receive after each session can therefore be submitted to Swiss supplementary insurances with a dental care module. We share the EMR number of the responsible hygienist on request.

What do I do if my insurance accepts neither EMR nor ASCA?

In very rare cases insurances require a different register. Raise the topic when you book, and we will check individually whether the required recognition is held by one of our hygienists. If your insurance requires none of the common recognitions, you submit the receipt as usual.

EMR and ASCA. What the two recognitions mean and which insurances require them.

Q: Are caries or implants billed via EMR or ASCA as well?

No. EMR and ASCA concern complementary medicine and selected preventive professional groups such as dental hygienists. Classic dental treatments such as caries, root canal treatment or implants are handled independently, via the normal conditions of your supplementary insurance for dental care.

Two Swiss quality registers

EMR stands for Erfahrungsmedizinisches Register, ASCA for Association Suisse des Médecines Complémentaires. Both are Swiss quality registers that certify certain professional groups from complementary medicine and dental hygiene. Swiss supplementary insurances with complementary or dental care module often tie the reimbursement of treatment costs to the membership of the executing person in one of these registers.

Specifically: if your supplementary insurance has an EMR or ASCA clause, your dental hygiene session is only reimbursed if the executing hygienist is listed in the respective register. Without recognition there is no reimbursement, even if the session is medically performed identically.

What EMR is

The Erfahrungsmedizinisches Register, EMR, was founded in 1999 by the Swiss health insurer industry. It certifies therapists in complementary and experiential medicine according to established quality criteria. For dental hygienists the prerequisites are a state-recognized education (in Switzerland the higher professional examination HF), professional experience and continuous further education.

EMR-recognized hygienists are accepted by the majority of Swiss supplementary insurances with dental care module, including Helsana, SWICA, Visana, Sanitas, Concordia and EGK.

What ASCA is

The Association Suisse des Médecines Complémentaires, ASCA, is also a Swiss quality register certifying therapists in complementary and experiential medicine. The prerequisites are similar as with EMR: recognized education, practice experience, continuous further training.

ASCA is required or accepted by some Swiss insurances. The exact recognition varies by insurance and tariff.

Differences between EMR and ASCA

In practice the two registers resemble each other strongly. Both certify according to comparable quality standards and are accepted by a large part of Swiss supplementary insurances.

Differences in acceptance:

EMR has the broader recognition in Switzerland. Practically all reputable supplementary insurances with dental care module accept EMR receipts.
ASCA is accepted by some insurances additionally or alternatively.
Some insurances explicitly require only EMR, some accept both, very few require only ASCA.

Which recognition your concrete insurance requires is in the insurance conditions of your supplementary insurance. In case of doubt call your insurance and ask.

Which Swiss insurances require which recognition

The list changes occasionally, so here an orientation. As of 2026:

Accept EMR: Helsana, SWICA, Visana, Sanitas, Concordia, EGK, KPT, ÖKK, Sympany, Atupri, Aquilana, as well as most smaller insurances.

Accept ASCA: Several of the above-mentioned insurances accept ASCA additionally to EMR. The exact list varies by tariff.

Require explicitly a specific list: Some premium tariffs have more restrictive recognition lists, such as only EMR therapists with additional special qualifications. In these cases the look in the insurance conditions is worthwhile.

The majority of the Swiss population is insured via an insurance with EMR recognition. That is why most qualified Swiss dental hygienists register for EMR.

What an EMR recognition means in practice

For you as patient an EMR-recognized hygienist means:

Reimbursability via supplementary insurance. You submit the receipt to your insurance, the reimbursement runs according to the tariff conditions.
Quality indicator. The EMR membership requires minimum standards on education and further education. Not every hygienist in Switzerland is EMR-registered, often for the reason that the practice has no patients with insurance requirement.
Direct billing possible. Some insurances enable direct shipping of the invoice to the insurance without you having to submit yourself. Prerequisite is the EMR registration of the executing person.

Who at Resident is EMR-recognized

Our dental hygienists at all six locations have completed the higher professional examination HF and are EMR-registered. The receipt you receive immediately after each session is therefore submittable to Swiss supplementary insurances with dental care module.

When first presenting at our practice, feel free to ask. We share the EMR number of the responsible hygienist upon request if your insurance requires that.

More on dental hygiene treatment at your location:

What cannot be EMR-recognized

EMR and ASCA concern complementary and experiential medicine as well as selected preventive professional groups such as dental hygienists. Classic dental treatments such as caries, root canal treatment or implants are not processed via EMR or ASCA but via the normal supplementary insurance conditions for dental care.

If your supplementary insurance covers dental care, these services are reimbursable independent of EMR or ASCA. More on this in the article on health insurance at the dentist and in the article on supplementary insurance for teeth.

What to do if your insurance accepts neither EMR nor ASCA

In very few cases insurances require another specific register. If your insurance accepts neither EMR nor ASCA, we check individually whether the required recognition is present with one of our hygienists. Address the topic when booking the appointment; we coordinate internally.

With insurance conditions that require none of the common recognitions, reimbursement is not dependent on EMR membership. You submit the receipt as usual.

Summary

EMR and ASCA are quality registers that decide at Swiss supplementary insurances about the reimbursement of dental hygiene services. EMR is the more common recognition in Switzerland. Resident hygienists are all EMR-registered. Which recognition your insurance specifically requires is in your insurance conditions. In case of doubt ask your insurance or us.

Arrange an appointment at your location, we clarify insurance questions in advance.