CDT to Include Coronavirus Testing Codes

On April 14, 2020, the Code Maintenance Committee (CMC) held an emergency virtual meeting, where practitioners and payers unanimously agreed to add two new codes to the CDT to enable dentists, including endodontists, to code for antigen and antibody tests for the Coronavirus, once they are available. As of now, the codes are not expected to go into effect until Jan. 1, 2021; however, practitioners may use the existing D0999 unspecified diagnostic procedure code, until that time. Once approved and available, fast point-of-care testing for the coronavirus may provide endodontists the ability to test patients that are asymptomatic for COVID-19 and need emergency endodontic care, to determine whether to proceed with endodontic care or request that the patient return home  and call their physician.