Dental codes, organized by how claims fail.
A list of dental codes tells you what a procedure is called. It does not tell you why the claim came back. This is the CDT code set sorted into its twelve categories, with the denial each one is known for and a billing guide for the procedures people look up most.
- DEvery CDT code starts with the letter D, then four digits.
- 2The first digit puts the code in a series. Here, the D2000s: restorative.
- 740The rest narrows to one procedure. D2740 is a crown code.
What does CDT stand for in dental billing?
CDT stands for Current Dental Terminology. It is the code set dental offices use to report procedures on claims in the United States. The American Dental Association maintains it and revises it every year.
- CDT codes go on dental claims. CPT codes go on medical claims, and some dental work belongs on those instead.
- The set changes every January. Codes are added, revised and deleted, so an old cheat sheet starts producing avoidable denials in the first quarter.
- The official descriptors are the ADA’s copyright. We reference code numbers and explain the billing decision in our own words.
Find a code family, then the decision behind it.
The ranges below are stable across annual revisions even though individual codes inside them are not. Pick a series, or type a code or procedure, and the lists narrow to match.
12 categories, 15 commonly searched codes and 21 billing guides.
Categories
- D0100 to D0999
Diagnostic
Exams, radiographs, photographs and diagnostic tests: the codes that open almost every claim and set up everything billed after them.
Where it goes wrongFrequency limits. Exams and images are the most frequency-restricted codes in dentistry, and the limit is per plan rather than per calendar year. Verification that does not capture image history is where this series turns into a write-off.
- D1000 to D1999
Preventive
Cleanings, fluoride, sealants and space maintainers. High volume, low value individually, and the backbone of a recall schedule.
Where it goes wrongAge limits and the adult-versus-child distinction. Sealants and fluoride commonly carry an age cut-off, and prophylaxis is split by patient age in a way that gets coded on autopilot and denied on review.
- D2000 to D2999
Restorative
Fillings, crowns, build-ups, inlays and onlays. Coded by surface count and material, both of which change the fee.
Where it goes wrongDowngrades. A posterior composite reimbursed at the amalgam rate is the single most common surprise on a restorative EOB, and the patient was usually quoted the composite fee.
- D3000 to D3999
Endodontics
Root canals, pulpotomies, apicoectomies and retreatment, coded by tooth type and canal count.
Where it goes wrongBundling with the restoration that follows. Build-ups and posts billed the same day as endodontic therapy are frequently bundled, and whether they are depends on the contract rather than the clinical reality.
- D4000 to D4999
Periodontics
Scaling and root planing, surgical periodontal treatment, and periodontal maintenance.
Where it goes wrongThe single richest source of denials in dental billing. Payers want charting that justifies the diagnosis, quadrant counts that match the tooth count, and a defensible interval between therapy and maintenance.
- D5000 to D5899
Prosthodontics, removable
Complete and partial dentures, relines, rebases and repairs.
Where it goes wrongReplacement clauses and waiting periods. A denture is commonly replaceable only on a multi-year cycle, and the clock runs from the prior placement, which may have happened at another practice entirely.
- D5900 to D5999
Maxillofacial prosthetics
Prostheses for patients following surgery or trauma. Low volume, high value, and often medically rather than dentally billed.
Where it goes wrongFrequently a medical claim rather than a dental one. Sending it to the dental plan by default is how these sit unpaid for months.
- D6000 to D6199
Implant services
Implant placement, abutments, implant-supported crowns and their maintenance.
Where it goes wrongMissing-tooth clauses and whether the plan covers implants at all. Verification that confirms only 'major coverage' without confirming implants specifically is not verification.
- D6200 to D6999
Prosthodontics, fixed
Bridges: pontics, retainers and abutment crowns, coded per unit.
Where it goes wrongUnit counting. A bridge is several codes, not one, and a missing-tooth clause can void the whole case regardless of clinical need.
- D7000 to D7999
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
Extractions, surgical extractions, biopsies, bone grafts and related procedures.
Where it goes wrongThe simple-versus-surgical extraction distinction, which turns on what was actually done rather than what was planned. The narrative has to support the code, and grafts often need a separate medical determination.
- D8000 to D8999
Orthodontics
Limited, interceptive and comprehensive treatment, plus retention.
Where it goes wrongLifetime maximums and the fact that orthodontic benefits are usually paid on an installment schedule rather than up front. Posting those installments correctly is where practices lose track.
- D9000 to D9999
Adjunctive general services
Sedation, palliative treatment, occlusal guards, office visits and the unclassified codes.
Where it goes wrongThe unspecified-procedure codes in this range need a narrative every time. Submitted without one they are denied by default, not reviewed.
Most common dental procedure codes
These are the codes most practices bill every week, each with the billing decision that usually goes wrong, in our own words. The official descriptors come from the ADA.
- D2740Porcelain crown on a natural tooth, not an implant (that is D6740), and the molar downgrade that follows itCrown codes
- D4346Gingival inflammation without bone loss; billed in place of a prophy, not as perioPeriodontal codes
- D0210 (FMX)The full series, its frequency limit, and when a collection of films becomes oneRadiograph codes
- D1110 / D1120Adult or child prophy is decided by dentition and plan age rules, not birthday aloneHygiene codes
- D0120 / D0150Periodic or comprehensive: the payer's definition of a new patient decides itExam codes
- D7140 / D7210Simple or surgical extraction is about the procedure performed, and the note has to show itExtraction codes
- D4341 / D4342Scaling and root planing by quadrant, split by how many teeth qualifyPeriodontal codes
- D0140The limited, problem-focused evaluation most practices under-billExam codes
- D2950A core build-up has to be needed for retention, and the x-ray has to show whyBuild-up codes
- D7953Socket preservation graft at extraction, and why the site decides the codeBone graft codes
- D4910Perio maintenance after active therapy, and the interval that decides paymentPeriodontal codes
- D6010Implant body placement, and checking coverage before the surgical dateImplant codes
- D9944–D9946Occlusal guards by material and arch, and the sleep appliance that is not oneNight guard codes
- D1206 / D1208Fluoride split by form, with age limits that vary by planSealant and fluoride codes
- D1351Sealants per tooth, covered for narrower teeth and ages than they are indicated forSealant and fluoride codes
Billing guides by procedure
- D6010, D6056, D6057, D6058, D6065Implant codes: placement, abutment and restoration
- D9944, D9945, D9946, D7880Night guard and occlusal appliance codes
- D1110, D1120Prophylaxis codes: D1110, D1120 and the line between them
- D2740, D2750, D2790, D6740Crown codes: material, and why D6740 is not D2740
- D7140, D7210, D7220, D7230, D7240Extraction codes: simple versus surgical
- D4341, D4342, D4346, D4355, D4910Periodontal codes: SRP, debridement and maintenance
- D2950, D2952, D2954Build-up, post and core codes, and when they bundle
- D0210, D0220, D0230, D0272, D0274, D0330Radiograph codes: FMX, periapicals, bitewings and panoramic
- D7953, D4263, D4264, D4265, D4266Bone graft and socket preservation codes
- D0120, D0140, D0150, D0160, D0180Exam codes: comprehensive, periodic, limited and detailed
- D1206, D1330, D1351, D1352Sealant and fluoride codes, and their age limits
- D2140 to D2394Filling codes: composite versus amalgam, and surface counting
- D2960, D2961, D2962Veneer codes: D2960, D2961, D2962 and the cosmetic exclusion
- D3310, D3320, D3330, D3120Endodontic codes by tooth type and canal count
- D5110, D5120, D5211 to D5226Denture and partial codes, including relines
- D8080, D8220, D8660, D8680Orthodontic codes and installment posting
- D2940, D2941, D2991Sedative and temporary filling codes
- D9222, D9223, D9230, D9243Sedation and nitrous oxide codes
- D2999, D4999, D9999Unspecified procedure codes and the narrative they need
- D6240, D6245, D6750, D6930Bridge codes: pontics, retainers and recementation
- D2980, D2920Crown repair, recementation and remake
Codes change every January
The CDT set is revised annually, effective 1 January. Codes are added, revised and deleted each year, which is why a team working from an old cheat sheet starts producing avoidable denials in the first quarter. Work from a current licensed copy of the code book, published by the American Dental Association.
No official descriptors here
We deliberately do not reproduce the official code descriptors on this site. They are the ADA’s copyrighted work and licensed commercially. What we can add is the part the code book does not: which pairings get bundled, what documentation a payer expects, and which limit decides the outcome before anyone reads the clinical notes.
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Common questions
What is a CDT code?
CDT stands for Current Dental Terminology. It is the code set used to report dental procedures on claims in the United States, maintained and published by the American Dental Association and revised annually. Every procedure billed to a dental plan is reported with one.
What is the difference between CDT and CPT codes?
CDT codes report dental procedures on dental claims. CPT codes report medical procedures on medical claims. The distinction matters in practice because some dental work (surgical extractions, biopsies, appliances for sleep apnea, trauma) is often more appropriately billed to medical, and sending it to the dental plan by default is a common reason those claims sit unpaid for months.
How often do dental codes change?
The CDT code set is revised annually and takes effect on 1 January. Codes are added, revised and deleted each year. This is why a team working from a cheat sheet printed two years ago starts producing avoidable denials in the first quarter. The code did not become wrong, it stopped existing.
Why does this page not list every code with its official description?
Because the CDT code set is copyrighted by the American Dental Association and licensed commercially. Code numbers are facts and we reference them freely, but reproducing the official descriptors wholesale is not ours to republish. The ADA publishes the authoritative list, and any practice billing dentistry should be working from a current licensed copy rather than from a blog post. What we add is the part the code book deliberately does not cover: which pairings get bundled, what documentation the payer actually wants, and which limit decides the outcome.
Which code series causes the most denials?
Periodontics, by a distance. Scaling and root planing, and the periodontal maintenance that follows, need charting that supports the diagnosis, quadrant counts that match the tooth count, and a defensible interval between therapy and maintenance. Diagnostic codes are a close second, where frequency limits rather than clinical judgment decide whether the claim pays.