What Changes in Dental Billing on January 1: CDT 2027 in Plain English

Every January, the dental code set changes. Most practices find out when a claim denies. This year there are 67 changes, and a handful of them touch work your office does every week.

What’s changing

The ADA’s Code Maintenance Committee approved 28 new codes, 33 revisions and 6 editorial updates. The ones most likely to matter:

• Implant work. New codes for placing a healing cap, and for removing a screw-retained restoration on an implant so the implant body can be treated.
• Splints. New codes for repairing or removing a fixed splint.
• Orofacial pain. New codes for nerve blocks and trigger-point injections.
• Chemodenervation. The ADA is separating cosmetic from therapeutic procedures.
• D2390. It now applies to any tooth. Before, it was anterior only.
• D8210 and D8220. Both are revised to describe removable and fixed adjunctive orthodontic therapy.

A new code doesn’t mean new coverage

Coding and coverage are separate. A plan decides what it pays based on its design and contracts, not on the ADA’s code book. NADP’s read is that most of this is refinement, not disruption, so don’t expect big benefit changes on January 1.

Expect claim systems and fee schedules to need updating. State Medicaid programs may take longer to catch up, especially on D8210 and D8220.

What to do before January 1

1. Ask your software vendor to confirm in writing when CDT 2027 will be loaded.
2. Update your fee schedule and superbills once the new code numbers are published.
3. Brief your clinical team on the implant, splint and orofacial pain changes.
4. Pull last year’s D2390 claims. Check how many were denied or bundled because of the tooth restriction.
5. If you do orthodontic work, compare your D8210 and D8220 documentation against the revised descriptions.

How VirtuCrest can help

• CDT 2027 readiness check for your fee schedule and superbills.
• Denial and A/R follow-up in the first weeks of January, when new-code denials show up.
• Monthly payer reporting, so you see which plans are rejecting new codes.

Where to start

Download the free guide →

And if you’d rather just talk it through, we offer a free 30-minute Practice Analysis where we look at your actual numbers together. No obligation, no cost.

Schedule your free Practice Analysis →

Sources: ADA News, NADP, DrBicuspid.