The ADA Code Maintenance Committee approved all three of the AAO’s Code Action Requests, which include new language for Limited Orthodontic Treatment.

The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) announced that the American Dental Association (ADA) Code Maintenance Committee, the body responsible for evaluating and voting on proposed changes to the Code of Dental Procedures and Nomenclature (CDT Code), approved all three of the AAO’s Code Action Requests. 

According to the AAO, these changes will be reflected in CDT 2022, which will be effective for services provided on or after January 1, 2022. 

The AAO’s approved requests included the deletion of the Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment subcategory nomenclature, descriptor, and codes D8050 and D8060; revision of the Limited Orthodontic Treatment descriptor; and deletion of D8690 “orthodontic treatment (alternative billing to a contract fee).” 

With the deletion of the Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment codes and the revision of the Limited Orthodontic Treatment descriptor, the AAO hopes any ambiguity and redundancy will be eliminated, as the procedures previously described as “interceptive” were thought to be substantively similar clinically to the Limited Orthodontic Treatment procedures.

According to the AAO, the new language for Limited Orthodontic Treatment will be written as follows: 

Orthodontic treatment utilizing any therapeutic modality with a limited objective or scale of treatment. Treatment may occur in any stage of dental development or dentition.

The objective may be limited by:

  • not involving the entire dentition.
  • not attempting to address the full scope of the existing or developing orthodontic problem.
  • mitigating an aspect of a greater malocclusion (i.e., crossbite, overjet, overbite, arch length, anterior alignment, one phase of multi-phase treatment, treatment prior to the permanent dentition, etc.).
  • a decision to defer or forego comprehensive treatment.

D8010   limited orthodontic treatment of the primary dentition
D8020   limited orthodontic treatment of the transitional dentition
D8030   limited orthodontic treatment of the adolescent dentition
D8040   limited orthodontic treatment of the adult dentition

Meanwhile, the deletion of D8690 was requested to reduce confusion for AAO members who commented that D8690 does not truly represent a procedure, is redundant with other exiting codes, and is no longer required. 

The CDT 2022 and Coding Companion Kit with App are now available for pre-order online through the ADA store.