D0150 — Comprehensive Oral Evaluation
D0150 is the thorough baseline exam for a new patient, or for an established patient being completely reassessed.
D0150 is the long exam. It is what you get on a first visit to a practice, and it is meaningfully different from a recall check-up: the dentist is building a record from nothing rather than comparing against one. Every tooth gets charted, every existing restoration gets noted, gum measurements are taken around each tooth, the bite is assessed, the joints and muscles are checked, and the soft tissues are examined properly.
It also applies to an established patient who has been away for years, or whose mouth has changed enough that the old baseline is useless. Most plans will pay a second comprehensive exam after three years with the same office, some after five, and some only once per provider ever.
What a full charting session produces
By the end of a comprehensive evaluation the chart should contain a tooth-by-tooth inventory: which teeth are present, which are missing, what is already restored and with what, where decay is suspected, which teeth have cracks or wear facets, and how the teeth meet when you bite. Periodontal probing depths are recorded at six points per tooth, along with recession, bleeding points and mobility.
That is the document everything else references. When a treatment plan later says a tooth needs a crown rather than a filling, or that a quadrant needs scaling and root planing rather than a cleaning, the comprehensive exam is the evidence behind it — and the thing an insurer asks to see when a claim is questioned.
What gets billed alongside it
A new-patient appointment is usually a bundle. The exam is D0150; a full-mouth radiographic series is D0210 or a panoramic image is D0330; bitewings are D0274; and if a cleaning happens on the same day it is D1110. Whether the cleaning happens at the first visit depends on what the gum readings show — if they reveal periodontal disease, the appropriate treatment is scaling and root planing (D4341/D4342), not a routine prophylaxis.
This is why some patients leave a first visit without a cleaning and feel short-changed. It is generally the right call: polishing the crowns of teeth whose roots are covered in calculus treats nothing.
Questions about D0150
What does D0150 include?
A full charting of every tooth and existing restoration, periodontal probing around each tooth, a bite and joint assessment, a soft-tissue and head-and-neck examination, and a review of medical history. Imaging and cleaning are billed separately.
How often will insurance pay for D0150?
Most plans allow one comprehensive evaluation per office every three years, some every five, and a few only once per provider.
Why did I not get a cleaning at my first visit?
If the periodontal readings show disease, the correct treatment is scaling and root planing rather than a routine cleaning, and that usually needs to be scheduled and often pre-authorised.
What is the difference between D0150 and D0120?
D0150 builds the baseline record from scratch and takes far longer; D0120 compares against that existing baseline at a recall visit.
Can I have D0150 twice at the same office?
Yes, if enough time has passed or your mouth has changed substantially — for example after years away, or following major treatment elsewhere.
Also known as: new patient exam, comprehensive evaluation, full charting, baseline exam, first dental visit.