CDT code

CDT stands for Current Dental Terminology, the code set published by the American Dental Association. Every procedure a practice bills has one: D1110 is an adult prophylaxis, D2740 a porcelain or ceramic crown, D2950 a core buildup. A fee schedule is simply a list of these codes with a price next to each, which is why a PPO write-off analysis is done code by code.

The code also defines what a single fee has to cover. Under a PPO contract, the allowed fee for a crown code pays for the diagnosis, the prep, the impression, the temporary, the seat and the outside lab bill together. When rent, staff and materials rise and that fee does not, the pressure falls on the lab. Ryan's proposal is to decouple the two: the crown code would cover the dentist's clinical services, and the lab fabrication would be a separate line insurance could not cap, the way vision plans handle frames.