Deep dental cleaning?
by Darcy
What is the difference between these two procedures... Periodontal maintenance/D4910 vs full mouth debridement/D4355 My insurance only covers D4910 and my dentist billed for D4355. I don't have periodontal disease and when I talked to my dentist, they said it was just a sonic cleaning. I was there for my routine exam. I feel caught in the middle. Can you help answer the dental side questions please? Thanks! reply by Shelly ~ admin Hi Darcy, A periodontal maintenance visit D4910 is a cleaning that follows 3 months after a deep dental cleaning aka scaling and root planning and then every 3 to 6 months going forward. A full mouth debridement is done when there is more tarter or calculus than can be removed in the time allowed for a regular cleaning. A full mouth debridement is normally the first of two visits the second of which is called a fine scaling. Many insurance plans do not cover full mouth debridement. If you have never had gum disease, or had a deep cleaning, you should not need periodontal maintenance. If you see your hygienist 2 or 3 times each year, you should not need a full mouth debridement unless you build up tarter unusually fast. For dental clients who are in good periodontal health (no gum disease) and who have their teeth cleaned at least twice a year the proper insurance code is D1110. It doesn't matter if the sonic cleaner aka cavitron or hand instruments are used. Almost all dental insurance plans consider a regular cleaning-D1110 preventative treatment and cover it twice a year along with a set of dental X rays and a dental exam. There has been a lot of debate in the dental community about the definition of a "regular cleaning" - D1110, prompting some dentists and hygienists to use other codes when the cleaning requires more than very minimal scaling with instruments or a cavitron and polishing. Unfortunately, it has led to some dental clients being told they need more than a routine cleaning when they really don't. Here is an article about deep dental cleanings. There are many dental offices (mine included) that still use the code D1110 for most dental cleanings. It is possible that you needed a full mouth debridement but you should have been informed before it was done and billed to your insurance. I hope this helps, ~Shelly~ |
