Coding Education

Some CDT Codes, especially recent additions, may not be readily understood by dentists and others in the dental community. These codes prompt a need for a coordinated educational message on the procedure and its reporting. The American Dental Association, with support from organizations on the Code Maintenance Committee and others in the dental community, has developed a variety of educational material. This information, within the following list of topics, is available online for anyone to download, read or view.

Videos

This short video, available at no cost for you to watch, addresses the appropriate CDT code – D0251 – for documenting capture and interpretation of an extra-oral image that has the same, or more, diagnostic information than seen on multiple bitewing images.

This short video, available at no cost for you to watch, covers a number of topics that will help dentists properly prepare and submit a claim form. Services are listed below.

• Overview of dental claim form
• Recording procedure information on a service line
• Diagnostic codes on a dental claims
• ADA resources to help you submit claim
  

Webinars

This webinar addresses a not uncommon perception – “all the codes I need are in one category of service.” In fact, documenting and reporting an implant case from initial diagnosis and treatment planning through placement of the definitive prosthesis requires selection of CDT Codes from several different categories of service. Codes for necessary procedures are found, for example, in the Diagnostic, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and adjunctive categories of service, as well as in Implant Services. The experienced ADA member delivering this program will discuss different real-life clinical scenarios illustrated with diagnostic images, and properly coded claim submissions.

Dentistry has moved well beyond the world of in-office image capture using size 2 films and panoramic imaging devices. This on-demand webinar is a multi-part program that takes a close look at the different types of images needed for diagnosis, treatment planning and operative procedures.

The recording will address the evolving tools, techniques and scenarios for image capture and interpretation, as well as provide specific answers to questions that may have come to mind such as:

• Am I reporting bitewings correctly when capturing the image extra-orally?
• In a teledentistry encounter, how are image capture and interpretation procedures documented?

Featuring speakers Dr. Walter Weber (Chair, Dental Benefit Information Subcommittee at ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs) and Dr. Jessica Stilley (Member, ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs).

Please note: CE credit is only provided for participating in the live webinar; viewing this recording does not qualify for credit.

This program is a primer that covers a number of services and their CDT Codes that establish and support prevention and ongoing oral health. There is more – an overview of emerging interest in dental diagnosis coding, CDT Code maintenance, and where coding and claim submission assistance is available from the ADA. The material covered is pertinent to activities and services delivered by private dental practices, as well as Medicaid MCOs and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FACHs).

The program’s Part 1 begins with commentary on some things that are relatively old – several pertinent diagnostic, preventive and administrative procedures that have been part of the CDT Code for several editions. Part 2 discusses case management – ways to bring patients into your operatories so that they receive necessary dental care, and the four new CDT Codes to document these efforts. In Part 3 the program closes by addressing some ins-and-outs and how-to’s concerning codes used every day within the dental community.

In this webinar, you will hear of key code changes and how these affect treatment planning and documentation. This program is one of a continuing series that address significant administrative activities that enable practice success. Its focus is on the CDT Code, the HIPAA standard code set for documenting and reporting services delivered on a patient’s dental record and on dental claim form submissions. Robust and accurate procedure documentation and reporting requires familiarity with procedure codes published in all CDT Code categories of service.

You will hear from Drs. Christopher Bulnes and Mark Mihalo and their experience in the CDT Code’s maintenance process, as well as how they use procedure codes in their practice management systems.

Documents (by Topic)

This guide describes, for dentists and others in the dental community, how to correctly document a “quadrant” procedure that involves treating a continuous series of anterior teeth that cross the mid-line of a dental arch (maxillary or mandibular). It is available at no cost to view or download.

This guide Appendix 2 of the ADA’s CDT Companion publication addresses CDT codes crosswalk to select ICD-10-CM Codes Applicable to Dentistry are to be recorded on a claim.

This guide is Appendix 3 of the ADA’s CDT Companion publication, and addresses reporting this information on both the ADA Dental Claim Form and the HIPAA standard electronic dental claim transaction (“837D”). It specifies, by CDT code, when Area of the Oral Cavity, Tooth Numbers or Tooth Surfaces should be reported.

This guide is Appendix 4 of the ADA’s CDT Companion publication. It describes the type of services that would be reported with CDT code D1320 tobacco counseling for the control and prevention of oral disease, and the applicable ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes. Both code sets are HIPAA national standards applicable to dental claims.

This is Appendix 5 of the ADA’s CDT Companion publication. It is intended to aid dentist and practice staff’s understanding of patient’s with special health care needs, and the types of services reported with CDT codes. These procedures would be coded with one or more dental case management codes (D9991 – D9997), as applicable, and other discrete codes for services provided during an encounter.

The “ADA Guide to Reporting Placement of Wound Dressing Materials” is published to aid dentists and others in the dental community select the applicable CDT Code entry to document and report placement of materials that promote homeostasis or protect tissue during the healing process. This guide was prepared by ADA Practice Institute staff with contributions from external knowledge experts. This guide is available for you to view or download.

The “ADA Guide to Graft Material Collection Procedure Reporting” is published to aid dentists and others in the dental community on reporting services that involve soft or hard tissue grafts. It clarifies when graft material collection is reported as a separate procedure, and when material collection is part of a graft procedure. This guide was written by ADA Practice Institute staff with contributions from member dentists in practice and external knowledge experts. This guide is available for you to view or download.

During its March 2022 meeting the ADA’s Code Maintenance Committee (CMC) approved seven (7) new COVID-19 vaccination procedure codes. These codes are now part of CDT 2022.

A memorandum to the entire dental community that announces the inclusion of these codes in CDT 2022, from the Council on Dental Benefit Programs and CMC Chairs, is available for reading and download.

This memorandum also announces an update to the ADA’s vaccination procedure coding guidance document, available online for reading and download.

These newly approved COVID vaccination procedure codes are also listed for anyone to download or view on the CDT Publication Errata web page as they are not included in the printed CDT 2022 manual.

This guide is published to educate dentists and others in the dental community on selection and reporting of diagnostic imaging procedures documented with codes listed in the Diagnostics category of service under “Image Capture Only.” CDT 2021 marks an expansion of codes in this sub-subcategory of service.

The “ADA Guide to ‘Image Capture Only’ Procedures and Their Reporting” is a comprehensive review and discussion of these procedures and their documentation. This publication includes a code selection decision tree and scenarios intended to provide insight and understanding of the procedures and their reporting.

This guide was prepared by ADA's Practice Institute staff with the support of external knowledge experts, and is available at no cost for you to view or download.

• Guide to “Image Capture Only” Procedures and Their Reporting (PDF)

This guidance document addresses confusion over appropriate documentation and reporting overdenture procedures as the applicable codes differ depending on the components and whether the prosthesis is borne by natural teeth or implants. The two scenarios illustrate coding for placement of maxillary and mandibular overdentures for a fully edentulous patient. This guidance also applies to placement of other types of overdentures (e.g., partial).

This guidance document addresses reporting extraction procedures, often referred to as “simple”, documented with CDT codes D7140, D7210 or D7250. Selection of the applicable code depends on the clinical scenario, several of which are described herein. Inquiries concerning these procedures led ADA staff to conclude that there is some confusion over CDT code selection. These recurring inquires indicated that there is a need to educate dentists and others in the dental community on appropriate procedure documentation.

The “Guide to Extractions” (PDF) is available to download.

Some CDT codes, especially recent additions, may not be readily understood by dentists and others in the dental community. In response, the ADA, with support from knowledge experts in the dental community, has developed a new CDT code guide. The aim is to help dentists understand the procedures underlying these codes and how they should be reported.

The guide to reporting "Occlusal Guards with Hard and Soft Components" development was facilitated by staff in the ADA's Practice Institute."

A copy of this guidance is available to download.

A “strip crown” is a direct procedure that involves: 1) placing a form on the tooth; 2) filling the form with composite resin that bonds directly to the tooth in the shape of a crown; 3) removal of the form from the tooth after the composite resin cures (i.e., the form is “stripped away” from the tooth and composite resin crown); and 4) finishing and final polishing as necessary.

The ADA’s position is that a “strip crown” procedure would be reported with a CDT Code listed within the “Resin-Based Composite Restorations — Direct” subcategory of service. Further, the dentist who delivers this procedure would consider the full CDT Code entry when determining the code that appropriately describes the service she or he delivered. Should a dentist be delivering a direct composite resin restoration, selection of the appropriate CDT Code is affected by the preparation —

If the restoration is full coverage with no visible original enamel, this is a crown procedure documented with the following CDT Code.

There is no question that a “strip crown” procedure is a direct resin-based composite restoration procedure. All the clinical steps occur inside the patient’s mouth, which meets the ADA Glossary of Dental Clinical and Administrative Terms definition of direct restorations (“A restoration fabricated inside the mouth.”). The “strip” is simply a form that enables creation of the artificial crown in-situ.