How to Code and Charge for Implant Placement and Restoration?

Last Updated: Dec 21, 2009

Anon. asks:
I just started doing dental implants and my staff and I are having a hard time learning how to code and charge for implant placement and restoration. For example, is the cost of bone graft included in the charge for a sinus lift? How do you charge for a ball attachment in an overdenture? Is the attachment male in the overdenture charged separately? Is this added to the cost of the overdenture? Can someone please recommend a course we can take or a consulting agency that will come to the office and teach us what we need for charging out these cases?

4 Comments on How to Code and Charge for Implant Placement and Restoration?

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Jody Catalanello

12/22/2009

One of the best resources out there is the Insurance Solutions Newsletter. With a subscription to the newsletter you also get back issues and access to their online coding forum. This is a complex topic and they have a lot of really good information. The other area you will want to investigate is medical coding, in some cases implant treatment will be billed thru the patients medical insurance in addition to or after you have billed their dental insurance.

Richard Hughes, DDS, FAAI

12/23/2009

Do not become to creative with medical insurance. There is this thing called mail fraud. Intent does not have to be prooven. You are best off playing it straight and make the patient pay. After all it's their problen. But who knows, maybe ObamaCare will take care of all these issues.....Not

Amandeep

12/24/2009

In the initial many patients feel that dental implant treatment is expensive compared to other dental procedures. However, Dental Implants represent a more permanent and natural solution than other dentistry treatments, for instance complete Dentures or Partials. Dental Implants are therefore a greater initial investment. Dental Implants should last for years, even a lifetime if they are properly fitted and cared for. It's a lifetime investment!

Karen M Johnson

02/17/2010

Hi, I am a surgery coder with very little dental coding experience. I am wondering how to code 21248 and 21249. What is the difference between partial and complete? If you have more than one tooth implant placed, do you charge for each individual tooth or are they all included in the partial or complete code? Any help you can give is much appreciated! Thanks

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