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Dental plans are required to recognize current CDT codes, it is important to understand that they are not required to provide benefits for the new or revised codes. Yearly, dentists should review each dental plan’s payment and processing policies to discover whether benefits will be...
Coding Tip: D0170 Limited, Problem Focused (Established Patient, not a post-operative visit) "Code what you do" is the mantra for filing of dental claims; however confusion over which codes to use is where we sometimes lose our way D0170 is used when the dentist is "assessing the...
D0431 is a visual cancer detection screening test, not to be confused with a biopsy, which is a different code (possibly D7288 brush biopsy which harvests transepithelial cells). If the visual oral cancer examination reveals mucosal abnormalities, the dentist may consider the biopsy or a...
“Take Back Codes” Insurance companies have the right to reduce a benefit(by taking the money back) for a service if the related service has already been paid on another submittal. For instance, the patient came in for a fractured tooth and a protective resin was...
D4346 Scaling in Presence of Generalized Moderate or Severe Gingival Inflammation--Full Mouth, after Oral Evaluation Never use this code as a “difficult prophy.” D4346 does not relate to the amount of time or effort to complete the procedure. D4346 is a therapeutic procedure that can be...
D4249 Crown Lengthening-Hard tissue is performed on a tooth with healthy periodontium (no perio disease). The procedure, to be considered a covered benefit, must follow the code descriptor carefully within the clinical documentation. Such as a “full-thickness flap reflected, and bone removed to expose more...
Indirect refers to fabrication from a lab and direct refers to fabrication at chairside on the patient. Do not report D2961 for laboratory made or CAD/CAM porcelain/ceramic veneers. Resin materials such as Belleglass® and Concept® are not to be confused with porcelain veneers cast in...
There are a lot of changes coming to dentistry in 2020 and all the "breaking news" and hype articles can be a lot to keep up with. So, we've compiled one master list of the Top 5 “must-read” articles and changes impacting dentistry early in 2020—from...
