The American Dental Association has released its CDT 2021 Code Book.
As of January 1, 2021, dental health professionals will be required to follow the codes in the CDT 2021 and can obtain a copy by going to ADA.org. With the start of the new year quickly approaching, dental offices must prepare to update their management software and keep systems streamlined to ensure high-quality services.
This year’s new book comes with 28 new codes, 7 revisions and 4 deletions.
The additions include codes for medicament, teledentistry image captures, counseling for risky substance abuse such as vaping, and testing patients potentially infected with COVID-19.
The codes allow dentists to be consistent, specific and uniform when documenting patient dental treatment. Codes describe the services delivered and other details so dentists know exactly how to catalog and track procedures. The CDT 2021 streamlines processing times for dental claims and other essential electronic correspondence with health care networks.
Because dental procedures are constantly evolving, the CDT Codes are updated annually with the highest regard to HIPAA standards. Nationally, dental professionals, ADA’s Council on Dental Benefits Program, third-party payers and other stakeholders advocate for changes to CDT.
The Council on Dental Benefit Programs, under ADA bylaws, is responsible for code maintenance. To keep up with these tasks, the Code Maintenance Committee with a body of representatives was set up.
If you have any questions related to CDT Codes, don’t hesitate to give us a call.