D2783 — Crown — 3/4 porcelain/ceramic
A crown is a custom-made cap that covers the entire visible part of a tooth. D2783 is the version in all-ceramic, with no metal underneath, which leaves one wall of the tooth uncovered.
It is one of 15 codes covering crown. For the procedure itself rather than the code, see the crown guide; for the code, read on.
Below you will find what this code specifically requires, a realistic price range, the usual benefit handling, and where it stops applying and another code begins.
D2783 in detail
Material — all-ceramic, with no metal underneath. An all-ceramic restoration is milled or pressed as a single piece of ceramic — most often zirconia or lithium disilicate today — with nothing metallic inside it. Because light passes through it the way it passes through enamel, it is the most convincing material available in the front of the mouth, and there is no grey line at the gum to appear as the gum recedes. Modern zirconia is also strong enough for molars, which was not true of the earlier ceramics. The material is part of the code rather than a choice made afterwards, so D2783 is only the right code if that is what was actually used.
Coverage — three-quarter rather than full. One wall of the tooth, usually the visible one, is left uncovered. That preserves sound tooth structure and keeps a natural surface on display, but it needs a tooth with enough healthy structure left on that wall to be worth keeping.
Told apart from the codes it is confused with
D2780 — Crown — 3/4 cast high noble metal: It specifies cast high noble alloy, with no porcelain over it rather than all-ceramic, with no metal underneath.
D2790 — Crown — full cast high noble metal: It specifies cast high noble alloy, with no porcelain over it rather than all-ceramic, with no metal underneath.
D2791 — Crown — full cast predominantly base metal: It specifies cast predominantly base-metal alloy rather than all-ceramic, with no metal underneath.
D2792 — Crown — full cast noble metal: It specifies cast noble alloy, with no porcelain over it rather than all-ceramic, with no metal underneath.
D2783 sits in a group of 15 codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. A single word separates several of these codes, and a payer reads that word literally. If the record does not support D2783 specifically, the claim comes back — usually repriced to whichever neighbouring code the reviewer thinks was actually performed.
Every code in this group
These codes describe the same broad procedure and differ in one respect each. Each has its own page with its own fee range and coverage notes.
Questions about D2783
What does dental code D2783 mean?
Read literally, D2783 means crown, 3/4 porcelain/ceramic — and payers do read it literally.
What is the typical fee for D2783?
$1,100–$2,550 is the realistic range before benefits. Your own share depends on your plan's percentage, deductible and remaining annual maximum.
Does dental insurance cover D2783?
Most plans include it under major benefits, typically 50% after deductible. A pre-treatment estimate is the only way to know your own number in advance.
What is the difference between D2783 and D2780?
D2780 is crown, 3/4 cast high noble metal: it specifies cast high noble alloy, with no porcelain over it rather than all-ceramic, with no metal underneath. Nothing else separates them, which is exactly why a claim submitted under the wrong one of the two is such a common correction.
Also known as: dental crown, cap, full coverage restoration, crown and bridge.