The twelve categories of dental service
Dental procedure codes are organised into twelve ranges, and the range a code sits in tells you a great deal before you read anything else — including how your plan is likely to pay for it. Each category page is a full article on that area of dentistry, followed by every code in the range.
Diagnostic
What the D0 diagnostic codes cover: exams, X-rays, scans and tests. Which ones your plan pays twice a year, and what the differences between exam codes mean.
Preventive
Cleanings, fluoride, sealants and space maintainers. What the D1 codes cover, why a cleaning is sometimes billed as gum treatment instead, and what plans pay.
Restorative
Fillings, inlays, onlays and crowns. How the D2 codes are organised by surfaces and material, why white fillings get downgraded, and what each tier costs.
Endodontics
Root canal codes by tooth type, retreatment, apicoectomy and pulpotomy. What each D3 code covers, what it costs, and how plans handle endodontic claims.
Periodontics
Scaling and root planing, periodontal maintenance, gum surgery and grafting. What each D4 code means, when it is justified, and how plans limit coverage.
Prosthodontics, removable
Complete and partial dentures, relines, repairs and immediate dentures. What the D5 codes cover, what materials cost, and how plans limit replacement.
Maxillofacial prosthetics
Obturators, facial and ocular prostheses, radiation carriers and feeding appliances. What the D59 codes cover and why they are usually a medical claim.
Implant services
Implant placement, abutments, implant crowns and implant dentures. Which codes make up the total cost of an implant, and how plans handle each part.
Prosthodontics, fixed
Bridge pontics, retainer crowns and Maryland bridges. How a bridge is coded unit by unit, what it costs, and how it compares with an implant.
Oral & maxillofacial surgery
Extractions, wisdom teeth, bone grafts, biopsies and jaw surgery. What each D7 code covers, what it costs, and when a medical plan pays instead.
Orthodontics
Braces and aligner codes by dentition and treatment phase. What comprehensive orthodontic treatment includes, and how the orthodontic lifetime maximum works.
Adjunctive general services
Sedation, palliative treatment, night guards, whitening and consultations. What the D9 codes cover and which of them your plan will actually pay.