You could call me a true coding nerd, and I would agree. It's my business and pleasure to study, research, and use the ADA's Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature (CDT) coding information to the fullest, both for my satisfaction and for the satisfaction of my clients and the dental community.
The CDT codes achieve uniformity, consistency, and specificity in accurately documenting dental treatment. If a matching code validates the procedure notes, anyone involved with the patient can understand the treatment delivered. Further outcomes are efficient processing of dental claims and population electronic health records.
Estela Vargas, CRDH.
On March 7, 2025, at the ADA's headquarters in Chicago, the Code Maintenance Committee discussed changes to the CDT code for January 2026. I attended the meeting and am excited about the progress in reporting with our coding, which has forged a better future with the changing times.
Dental technology and treatment modalities continue to improve patient care of active disease and provide systems to identify and prevent dental disease. Updating the CDT coding manual yearly keeps us current in documenting patients' records and correctly billing their dental insurance plans.
The updates will be available later this year, as the committee voted to accept, revise, or decline changes to codes related to saliva testing and resin-based composites, plus some 50 proposed changes to the CDT 2026 code.
One new code approved by the committee addresses point-of-care saliva testing. "Point of care" refers to using these tests at dental offices and other care sites, such as assisted living facilities. Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as performing a diagnostic test at or near the patient's site, thereby improving the patient’s accessibility to testing that could save their life.
The committee also voted to amend two existing codes related to saliva testing. The changes reflect the use of those codes for laboratory-based saliva tests.
Another action the committee took included approving the deletion of the descriptor for code D2391: Resin-based composite - one surface, posterior -- which specified the status of the carious lesion being restored. The deletion allows providers to use the code to report one-surface, resin-based composite restorations regardless of lesion depth or diagnosis.
"The [council saw the need] to see the descriptor removed to make it consistent with all other restorative codes," Dr. Shelley Olson, a member of the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs, of which the Code Maintenance Committee is a standing committee, said. "There is no other code that tells the dentist at what level they must prepare a tooth."
In a related action, the committee voted to remove code D1352: Preventive resin restoration in a moderate to high caries risk patient - permanent tooth from the CDT code because that procedure could be accurately documented and reported using the updated code D2391.
According to the ADA, following the meeting, the Council on Dental Benefit Programs will assign CDT numbers to each new code and ensure all other actions are reflected in the 2026 CDT Code book, which will be available this fall. All code changes approved at the meeting will be effective January 1, 2026.
For more information about the Code Maintenance Committee and its processes, visit ADA.org/CDT.
Estela Vargas, CRDH, is the founder and CEO of Remote Sourcing, a dental insurance billing and revenue recovery service. She is a graduate of Miami Dade College's dental hygiene program. Vargas' extensive background in the clinical arena of dentistry is coupled with her experience as a practice administrator and business executive.
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