Procedural Coding Guidelines
Procedural Coding Guidelines
Procedural Coding Guidelines
While the categories appear to be titled by dental specialty, Coding and billing decisions are personal choices to be made by in-
dividual oral and maxillofacial surgeons exercising their own profes-
use of the codes is not restricted to any specific specialty.
sional judgment in each situation. The information provided to you in
Any dental practitioner can use any code found in CDT. this paper is intended for educational purposes only. In no event shall
AAOMS be liable for any decision made or action taken or not taken
SYMBOLS FOR ADA CODES
by you or anyone else in reliance on the information contained in this
Symbols designating new or revised ADA codes are the article. For practice, financial, accounting, legal or other professional
same as those used to denote additional or revised CPT advice, you need to consult your own professional advisers.
codes (see Section II-Symbols in CPT).
UNBUNDLING SURGICAL PROCEDURES This is one in a series of AAOMS papers designed to provide
REPORTED WITH DENTAL CODES information on coding claims for oral and maxillofacial surgery
(OMS). This paper discusses procedural coding guidelines utiliz-
When surgical procedures are reported under the dental
ing CPT, HCPCS and CDT. When indicated, you will be referred
coding system, as in CPT medical reporting, oral and max- to the appropriate area of the coding books where the principles
illofacial surgeons are expected to use the same guidelines of coding illustrated in this paper may be applied.
regarding which components of the procedure are inherent Proper coding provides a uniform language to describe medical,
in that procedure’s routine completion, and which, if any, surgical, and dental services. Diagnostic and procedure codes
ancillary procedures would constitute separate procedures. are continually updated or revised. The AAOMS Committee on
For example, ADA code D7840 (condylectomy) would not Health Care and Advocacy has developed these coding guide-
be listed in addition to D7865 (arthroplasty) as an addi- lines in order to assist the membership to use the coding systems
effectively and efficiently.
tional procedure. The condylectomy would only be re-
ported separately if it were the only procedure performed. © 2013 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Reporting the arthroplasty and the condylectomy as two No portion of this publication may be used or reproduced without
the express written consent of the American Association of Oral
separate procedures constitutes classic “unbundling” since
and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
the condylectomy is a component of a temporomandibular
Revised March 2013
joint arthroplasty and therefore does not warrant a separate
charge.
In many instances in CDT, multiple codes may be indicat-
ed for use in a procedure. CDT will indicate that a code
should be reported “in addition to” other procedure codes.
An example of this would be D7290 (surgical reposition-
ing of teeth), which states in the descriptor, “Grafting
procedure(s) is / are additional.”