Is D0470 a current CDT code for 2026?

Yes. D0470 is active in CDT 2026 for diagnostic casts. What changed around it is the guidance on digital workflows: D0470 now reads specifically as a physical model made the traditional way, an impression poured to stone. A model captured by intraoral scanner is reported under the 3D surface scan codes instead (D0801 for a direct intraoral scan), so the code you pick depends on how the model is made, not just that you made one.

What is the difference between D0470 and a digital scan code?

How the model is created. D0470 is a traditional physical cast: you take an impression and pour it into stone. If you capture the arch digitally with an intraoral scanner, that is a 3D intraoral surface scan, D0801, not D0470. A surface scan taken of an existing stone cast is D0802. If you print a physical model from a digital scan in your office, that printing step is D0396. The deciding question is the method of capture, not whether the model ends up on the bench.

Does insurance cover D0470?

Sometimes, and it is plan-dependent. Many plans treat diagnostic casts as part of the records or evaluation visit and bundle them rather than paying a separate benefit. When casts are tied to an orthodontic case, payment often follows the plan's orthodontic benefit rules rather than the general diagnostic category. Some plans cover D0470 for defined situations like a documented complex restorative or surgical plan. Verify the specific plan before the visit and tell the patient the model may not be a standalone covered service.

Can I bill D0470 with panoramic and cephalometric images for orthodontic records?

Often yes, when each item is clinically justified and the plan allows it. A standard orthodontic records set commonly includes diagnostic casts (D0470), a panoramic image (D0330), a cephalometric image (D0340), and clinical photographs (D0350). Each is its own code, and a carrier can pay, bundle, or deny any of them independently. On a plan with an orthodontic benefit, the records may fall under the ortho benefit rather than the general diagnostic allowance, so confirm how that plan handles a records set before submitting.

Can D0470 be billed for impressions taken to make an appliance?

No. D0470 is for diagnostic study models used to evaluate and plan, not for the working impressions that go into fabricating an appliance, crown, denture, or night guard. Impressions taken as part of making a device are considered part of that device's procedure, not a separate diagnostic cast. If the model exists to study the case and plan treatment, D0470 can apply. If it exists to build something, the model is part of that build.

D0470 Dental Code: Diagnostic Casts Billing Guide

D0470 is the CDT code for diagnostic casts, the stone study models of a patient's teeth poured from an impression and used to plan treatment.

The code looks simple until a digital scanner enters the operatory. D0470 reports a physical model made the traditional way, an impression poured into stone. Capture the same arch with an intraoral scanner and you are in a different set of codes entirely, which is where most of the miscoding on this procedure starts. The other recurring problem is treating it as a guaranteed benefit when carriers often bundle it into the records visit or the case it supports.

On this page

What D0470 covers
The distinguishing axis: how the model is made
D0470 is for diagnosis, not for making a device
Coverage reality: often bundled, often plan-dependent
When to bill D0470
Documentation that supports the claim
What to get right in your PMS
FAQs

What D0470 covers

D0470 reports diagnostic casts: stone models of the patient’s teeth and the surrounding ridge, poured from an impression and used to study the case. The other names you will hear in the chart are study models or diagnostic models. The job of the cast is diagnostic. The dentist uses it to examine the bite, measure arch relationships, plan orthodontic or restorative treatment, and document where things stand before any work starts.

Two things define the code. The model is for study and planning, not for building a device. And, in current guidance, the model is a physical one made the traditional way, an impression poured into stone. Both have to be true for D0470 to be the right code.

The distinguishing axis: how the model is made

This is the part that has changed under the hood and the part most likely to be miscoded. D0470 is not the catch-all “we made a model” code anymore. It is specifically the traditional, physical-cast code. The deciding question is the method of capture.

Traditional impression poured to stone is D0470. You take an impression, pour it, and the result is a physical study cast.
A direct digital capture of the arch with an intraoral scanner is a 3D surface scan, reported as D0801 (3D intraoral surface scan, direct), not D0470.
A surface scan taken of an existing physical cast is D0802 (the indirect surface scan, where the patient is not present and the scan is of the model rather than the mouth).
Printing a physical model from a digital scan in the office is D0396, the 3D-printing step, not D0470.

So the same clinical goal, a model to plan from, can land on several different codes depending on the workflow. An office that scans instead of pouring stone but still bills D0470 out of habit is coding the wrong method.

D0470 is for diagnosis, not for making a device

The second line to hold is the one between a diagnostic study cast and a working impression. They can look identical on the bench, but they bill differently.

A diagnostic cast under D0470 exists to study and plan. The dentist analyzes the model to understand the malocclusion, the occlusal scheme, or the restorative situation, and to build a treatment plan from it.

A working impression exists to fabricate something: a crown, a denture, an orthodontic appliance, a night guard. That impression is part of the procedure for the device, not a separate diagnostic cast. Billing D0470 for the impressions that go into making an appliance is a common misuse, and a reviewer who sees a study-model code attached to an appliance case has a reason to question it.

The test is purpose. If the model exists to evaluate and plan, it can be D0470. If it exists to build a device, it belongs to that device’s procedure.

Coverage reality: often bundled, often plan-dependent

Whether a plan pays D0470 as its own line is genuinely a plan-by-plan question, and the realistic default is that many do not pay it separately.

A lot of plans treat diagnostic casts as part of the evaluation or records visit and bundle them rather than reimbursing a standalone benefit. When that happens, the model is not denied because it was unnecessary, it is simply considered included in the visit. Other plans do cover D0470 in defined circumstances, such as a documented complex restorative or surgical plan where the cast clearly drives treatment planning.

The orthodontic angle adds another layer. When diagnostic casts are part of an orthodontic workup, the payment often follows the plan’s orthodontic benefit rather than the general diagnostic category, and ortho benefits behave on their own terms (separate maximums, age limits, their own payment patterns). So a cast billed inside an ortho records set may be handled completely differently from the same cast on a general restorative case.

When to bill D0470

Report D0470 when the office produces a physical stone study cast to evaluate and plan treatment. Common situations:

Orthodontic records, where the casts document the starting malocclusion and arch relationships before treatment.
A complex restorative or full-mouth case, where the dentist studies the occlusion and plans the sequence of work from the model.
Pre-authorization or case presentation, where the cast supports the treatment plan submitted to the carrier or shown to the patient.
Tracking a change over time, where a baseline cast documents the dentition before and during a course of care.

Do not bill D0470 for:

A digitally scanned model. A direct intraoral scan is D0801; a scan of an existing cast is D0802.
A printed model produced from a digital scan. That step is D0396.
The working impressions used to fabricate a crown, denture, appliance, or guard. Those are part of the device’s procedure, not a diagnostic cast.

Documentation that supports the claim

Diagnostic casts get questioned when the record does not show why the model was needed, so the note should connect the cast to the planning it served. A record that supports D0470 generally includes:

The date the casts were made and the patient identifier.
The diagnostic or treatment-planning reason the casts were taken (the orthodontic workup, the complex restorative plan, the case being presented or pre-authorized).
A note that the model is a study cast for evaluation, not a working impression for a device, so the diagnostic purpose is on the record.
For an orthodontic case, the casts as part of the broader records set alongside the radiographs and photographs.

If the cast is part of a pre-authorization, keep it tied to the treatment plan it supports so the purpose is obvious to the reviewer.

What to get right in your PMS

The menus differ across Open Dental, Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Curve, and Carestream, but the setup that prevents problems is the same:

Check whether your workflow still matches the code. If the office has moved from poured stone to an intraoral scanner, the default records code may need to shift from D0470 to D0801. Coding the old method on a digital workflow is the most likely error here.
Keep the diagnostic-cast code separate from working-impression steps. D0470 is for study models. Impressions taken to fabricate a crown, denture, or appliance belong to that device’s procedure, not to a diagnostic cast line.
Build the orthodontic records set as distinct line items. Diagnostic casts (D0470), panoramic image (D0330), cephalometric image (D0340), and photographs (D0350) are separate codes, and a carrier can pay, bundle, or deny each one on its own. Keep them as deliberate, labeled entries.
Flag diagnostic casts as commonly bundled. Set the estimate and the patient conversation so a bundle or a route through the ortho benefit is the expected outcome, not a surprise.
Note the diagnostic purpose at the time of service. A short note tying the cast to the treatment planning it supported is what defends the code if the claim is reviewed.

CDT codes are maintained by the American Dental Association. This page is an editorial billing guide, not the official ADA code descriptor. Verify current coverage policies with each carrier before submitting claims.