D6120 — Implant-supported retainer crown, PFM (titanium and titanium alloys)
One of the codes covering the retainer units of a bridge supported by implants rather than natural teeth. D6120 is the version in porcelain fired over a titanium core.
16 codes describe implant-supported bridge retainer, and this is one of them. What separates it from the other 15 is the subject of this page; the implant-supported bridge retainer guide covers the treatment itself.
What follows: the specifics built into the number, the money, the benefit treatment, and the line separating it from the codes it is easiest to confuse it with.
What the code commits to
Material — porcelain fired over a titanium core. Titanium cores are chosen mainly for biocompatibility: titanium does not provoke metal sensitivity and it is exceptionally corrosion resistant. It is also light and very stiff. The complication is technical — titanium oxidises at the temperatures porcelain is fired at, so it needs low-fusing porcelains and a bonding layer, and fewer laboratories do it well. The material is part of the code rather than a choice made afterwards, so D6120 is only the right code if that is what was actually used.
D6120 compared with its closest relatives
D6121 — Implant-supported retainer crown, full cast metal (predominantly base alloys): It specifies cast predominantly base-metal alloy rather than porcelain fired over a titanium core.
D6122 — Implant-supported retainer crown, full cast metal (noble alloys): It specifies cast noble alloy, with no porcelain over it rather than porcelain fired over a titanium core.
D6123 — Implant-supported retainer crown, full cast metal (titanium and titanium alloys): It specifies titanium or a titanium alloy rather than porcelain fired over a titanium core.
D6099 — Implant-supported retainer crown, PFM (noble alloys): It specifies porcelain fired over a noble-alloy core rather than porcelain fired over a titanium core.
D6120 sits in a group of 16 codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. Where the codes sit this close together, the record of the appointment is what settles which one was earned. That is worth knowing before treatment rather than after.
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 D6120
What does dental code D6120 mean?
D6120 is shorthand for implant-supported retainer crown, PFM, titanium and titanium alloys — the same five characters every practice and every insurer in the country uses for it.
Is D6120 expensive?
$1,320–$3,080 is the realistic range before benefits. Your own share depends on your plan's percentage, deductible and remaining annual maximum.
Does dental insurance cover D6120?
Most plans include it under major benefits, 0–50%. A pre-treatment estimate is the only way to know your own number in advance.
What is the difference between D6120 and D6121?
D6121 is implant-supported retainer crown, full cast metal, predominantly base alloys: it specifies cast predominantly base-metal alloy rather than porcelain fired over a titanium core. Apart from that, the two describe the same treatment — which is why the notes for the visit matter more here than the code itself.
Also known as: implant bridge, implant retainer, implant supported FPD, multiple missing teeth.