Dental Office Periodontal Procedures In Hygiene Monitors
Dental office periodontal procedures count as a separate production total in my hygiene monitors. Because we want to know how much of our hygiene production is just perio, let’s take a look at perio. And, in order to track perio production, we need to know what procedures we’re talking about! Also, keep in mind, that each office is uniquely wonderful! So, what happens in the dental office where you work might be very different from where someone else works.
However, in general, there are some common basic periodontal procedures performed in our dental hygiene chairs. So, let’s take a closer look at those procedures and codes. And you can certainly adjust accordingly. Find out what’s done where you are! And then make your monitors fit your world.
Just keep in mind, that you want to run reports that detail periodontal procedure codes performed in your practice. And your software system is your best friend here! Use the filters in your software settings to get specific procedure codes. And you can choose certain providers within a specific time period. This way you don’t have to physically count and track numbers.
Download my dental office hygiene monitors. If you don’t have a monitor you like and want to use this as a guide, it’s here for you! Jump inside the Dental Front Office Library today! Great. Now we have our hygiene monitors, so let’s move on!
Codes To Include In Your Perio Production Total
- D4341 – Periodontal Scaling & Root Planing (4 or more contiguous teeth per quadrant)
- D4342 – Periodontal Scaling & Root Planing (1-3 teeth per quadrant)
- D4346 – Gingivitis – Scaling of Full Mouth After Exam
- D4910 – Periodontal Maintenance
- D4381 – Localized Delivery of Chemotherapeutic Agents
- D4355 – Full-Mouth Debridement
*****Again, this is a general list of perio codes to reference! As you can see, these procedure codes all start with a “D4”. Dental insurance codes that are perio codes, start with this “D4”. That may help you identify perio codes if you are not familiar with them. You may even want to look at a report that displays all perio codes posted in the last 12 months. Especially if you haven’t looked at this as a whole before.
Dental Office Periodontal Procedures In Block Schedules
Want to perfect your hygiene schedule? And create just the right number of hygiene blocks for your dental practice. Well, once you track the number of the individual procedures you have in a 12 month period, you can! But keep in mind that your schedule template should be updated each year too. As your dental practice grows and changes, your schedule must meet it’s needs.
The different procedures require different amounts of time. And also produce different dollar amounts. That’s why it’s critical to know just what you need to create the best schedule template. If your hygiene schedule isn’t booking well, or producing well, try creating a new schedule template.
Maybe your schedule doesn’t allow for enough perio treatment. Dental patients often want and deserve immediate treatment once diagnosed with periodontal disease. Tracking your perio numbers separately will help you see just what’s happening in your hygiene department. It’s best not to assume anything. Let the numbers speak for themselves.
Fees For Perio Procedures
Different periodontal procedures have different fees. That makes sense, right? But do the fees you charge for periodontal procedures make sense? This could be another piece of the hygiene puzzle you need to adjust. Especially if the production numbers seem low. And I’ve seen dental offices with very strange pricing structures. Because they are afraid to charge “too much” for periodontal procedures.
There should be a definite difference between routine hygiene fees and periodontal procedures. But start by looking at the routine prophy fee in your dental practice. And then move from there. I understand you may want to look at the usual and customary fees for your location. But here’s something to think about too!
Take your adult prophy fee (D1110) and double that for your periomaintenance fee (D4910). So, if your adult prophy fee is $101.00, then your periomaintenance fee would be $202.00. For one quadrant of root planing (D4341), triple your prophy fee ($303.00). And the localized root planing (D4342) per quadrant is calculated as 3/4 of the fee for the D4341 ($227.25). Or you could also base this on a per-tooth basis. And charge something like $75 for one tooth, $150 for two teeth; and leave the fee at $227.25 for 3 teeth.
How do your fees measure up? They should all make sense when looking at your adult prophy fee. So be sure you are okay with the adult prophy fee and generate your perio fees from that point. Then combine solid fee schedules with tracking your perio procedures and production. And there you have it! Some great tools to help you meet your dental hygiene goals.
