Dental CDT codes are the Level 1 codes that report procedures for dental works by the medical payers. Different CDT dental codes refer to different scenarios in the claim form for the dental procedures. Each code begins with the letter “D” (i.e. the procedure code) and a series of 4 numbers after it (i.e. the nomenclature). One such ada code 2740 refers to when reporting Zirconia or Porcelain Ceramic Crown.
What Is Dental Code D2740?
This dental code d2740 is used to report the porcelain or ceramic crown on your teeth, often the front teeth. CDT d2740 covers crowns, decays, discoloration, fracture on dental piece, bridges, and restoration of tooth after root canal etc. D2740 is to be used for the placement of a prosthetic crown in case of a decayed, fractured, cracked or a chipped tooth. The crown used can be either full metal, porcelain or ceramic.
Porcelain vs Ceramic Crowns
Crown is the part of your tooth above the gum line that is visible in a healthy mouth. Dental crowns serve the purpose of repairing damaged tooth problems. They protect and cover the damaged part of the tooth to restore the original shape of your tooth. If a cracked tooth is left unattended it can lead to a much worse case. Often loss of the tooth. There are various dental practices and methods that help in achieving the tooth back to its original state. Such examples include porcelain or ceramic crowns. Both serve the same purpose but with slight minor differences in practice. That difference is the use of metal in the method.
A porcelain crown uses a small thimble to be placed over the broken tooth. Above which the porcelain is then fused, and the metal piece hidden in process. Thus, the tooth is crowned. However, Ceramic crown on the other hand is quite the opposite. That means no use of the metal piece while crowning. However, there are benefits and drawbacks to this at the same time. Ceramic crown means that the tooth will be more fragile as compared to porcelain crown method but at the same time cause no allergies or metal sensitivities. In addition to this, Zirconia is one other type of ceramic, a rising procedure for dental crown. With use of zirconium oxide (stronger than some metal alloys) it causes less stress and damage than the porcelain crown and is thus commonly recommended.
What Is The Procedure Of D2740 Dental Code?
This code should only be used when reporting ceramic, porcelain or zirconia crowns. A dentist when treating or completely removing the impacted tooth will refer to this CDT code to the service he or she provided. The insurance company plans often limit the reimbursement of the crown replacement to every 10 years, regardless of the materials used. On the other hand the insurance company will not reimburse for porcelain or ceramic crown if done in the rear section of the mouth. If your tooth decay is not clearly visible in the X-Ray done, mention the location of the decay in the narrative along with the X-Ray result. If the tooth has been treated with root-canal, make sure to mention that along with the X-Ray documents as well. After 2018, CDT d2740 reimburses for porcelain and ceramic crown but not zirconium.
How Much Does D2740 Dental Code Cost?
The cost for d2740 crown procedure depends on the plan chosen and hence, varies accordingly. However, your plan may or may not include the cost of a porcelain crown thus, if you wish to turn from a full metal to a porcelain ceramic crown and your insurance plan only covers the cost of a metal crown then you will have to pay the cost difference yourself.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the d2740 procedure code for dental crown is to be claimed in case of a crown placement on a damaged tooth. The price varies according to the type of material used. While metal crowns are more long lasting, the ceramic ones are much better in terms of sensitivities and are hence, recommended over the metal ones.
If you have any further questions regarding dental codes, detailed guides on reimbursements by insurance companies or anything similar, it is advised to consult dental billing companies for a better guidance.
