D6069 — Abutment-supported retainer, PFM FPD (high noble)

What has to be true for D6069 to apply

Material — porcelain fired over a high noble, gold-rich core. The core here is a high noble alloy — at least 60% noble metal with a minimum of 40% gold — with porcelain fired over it. Gold-rich alloys are prized for a practical reason rather than a sentimental one: they are chemically inert in the mouth, so the margins do not corrode, and they are ductile enough to be burnished to a very close fit against the tooth. The alloy alone can account for $150–$300 of the laboratory bill, which is why this is the most expensive crown in the porcelain-fused family. The material is part of the code rather than a choice made afterwards, so D6069 is only the right code if that is what was actually used.

D6069 against the codes beside it

D6068 — Abutment-supported retainer, porcelain/ceramic FPD: It specifies all-ceramic, with no metal underneath rather than porcelain fired over a high noble, gold-rich core.

D6070 — Abutment-supported retainer, PFM FPD (base metal): It specifies porcelain fired over a base-metal core rather than porcelain fired over a high noble, gold-rich core.

D6071 — Abutment-supported retainer, PFM FPD (noble metal): It specifies porcelain fired over a noble-alloy core rather than porcelain fired over a high noble, gold-rich core.

D6072 — Abutment-supported retainer, cast metal FPD (high noble): It specifies cast high noble alloy, with no porcelain over it rather than porcelain fired over a high noble, gold-rich core.

D6069 sits in a group of 16 codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. The descriptions differ by a few words and the fees differ by a great deal, which is why mixing them up is one of the commonest billing errors in dentistry. Ask which of these codes is being submitted and why.