Open Dental Forum

Is there a way to have multiple codes for the same procedure using different fees? I tried entering two records with the same procedure code and it wasn't allowed.

For example: An elderly patient has only a few upper teeth left, so rather than charging a full prophy we'd charge a "prophy-upper" at a lower rate. This is something that happens a lot with the population we serve, so we'd like to have a standard code setup for this rather than having the providers go in a change the price manually or enter an adjustment.

I tried adding a new code "D1110-1" and then put the regular D1110 in the "Ins. Subst. Code" field, but then the insurance estimates are based on the full fee rather than the lower fee.

Any suggestions?

You can add a new procedure with a new code (in LISTS/PROCEDURE CODES), but just add a letter or number at the end. For example, D1110a. Define it as whatever you want, like "half prophy" and assign a fee to it. When you print the claim form or send it electronically, Open Dental will cut off the last letter or number and you will get D1110 with the fee you assigned to that procedure.
Jorge Bonilla, DMD

Yes, just leave the substitution code blank and it will work.

ahh....that will save us lots of time. Thanks for bringing this up. We routinely change SRP fees manually depending on difficulty, but if I can add different codes with lower fees but the ins claim will still print the regular code, that is great.