D6930 is the CDT code for cementing a loose bridge back onto the same natural abutment teeth when the bridge is still sound.
- When to use: A bridge on natural teeth came loose intact and is reseated as is, billed once for the bridge even if only one retainer released.
- When not to use: A single crown is D2920, a bridge on implants is D6093, a repaired bridge is D6980, and cutting a bridge apart is D9120.
- Billing note: Many plans fold a recement done soon after the same office seated the bridge into the bridge fee, so check the seat date before billing.
What D6930 covers
D6930 reports recementing or rebonding an existing fixed partial denture. The bridge came loose but is intact and clinically acceptable. The dentist cleans the residual cement off the retainers and abutment teeth and lutes the same bridge back on.
The CDT calls a bridge a fixed partial denture: retainer crowns on the abutment teeth joined to one or more pontics that fill the space of a missing tooth. That is why the recement code sits with the fixed prosthodontics codes, not the crown codes.
- One bridge, one D6930. A three-unit bridge that releases on one side is still one prosthesis. Bill the code once, not per retainer or per unit. Some PMS templates default to per-tooth entry on fixed prosthetics, so check that it goes out as one line.
- The whole prosthesis has to be reusable. A recemented bridge goes back in service as is. Any repair, sectioning, or replacement is a different code.
Resin-bonded (Maryland) bridges are fixed partial dentures too. When one debonds and the dentist rebonds the same prosthesis, the code is D6930.
Which recement code: two questions
Every code in the recement family reports the same chairside work. They differ on two questions.
What kind of restoration came off?
- D2920: a single crown on its own tooth.
- D2910: an inlay, onlay, veneer, or other partial-coverage restoration.
- D2915: a post and core that dislodged but is still usable.
- D6930: a fixed partial denture (a multi-unit bridge).
What is it supported by?
- D6930: a bridge cemented to natural abutment teeth.
- D6093: a bridge supported by implants or implant abutments.
- D6092: a single crown supported by an implant or abutment.
So a single crown on a natural tooth is D2920, a single crown on an implant is D6092, a bridge on natural teeth is D6930, and a bridge on implants is D6093. Partial-coverage restorations and posts have no implant counterpart, so D2910 and D2915 depend on the first question alone.
Both implant codes assume the prosthesis was cemented. A screw-retained implant crown or bridge that loosens is not recemented, so D6092 and D6093 do not apply. That case uses the implant maintenance and retaining-screw codes, depending on what the dentist did, so read the note before coding it.
What to bill when a bridge comes loose
If the bridge is on natural abutments, nothing broke, and the dentist can seat the same bridge and expect it to hold, the code is D6930. Check in this order:
- Is it a bridge on natural abutments? More than one unit, with a pontic. A standalone crown is D2920; a bridge on implants is D6093.
- Did anything break? Fractured porcelain, a failed connector, or broken metal that gets repaired is D6980. Cutting the bridge apart so part of it can remain is D9120.
- Is an abutment tooth failing? A bridge that came loose because an abutment has decay under the retainer or has fractured usually cannot be saved by recementing. Recementing over an undiagnosed abutment problem buys a few months before the bridge comes off again with more damage under it. Radiograph the abutments before deciding.
- Is it going to be replaced? A replacement bridge is billed with retainer crown codes such as D6750 and the pontic code for the span. Do not bill a recement on the same visit as a replacement of the same prosthesis. The bridge dental codes guide covers how the new units are coded and the replacement window most plans apply.
Coverage and how carriers treat a recement
Most plans cover D6930, typically as a basic service, and the fee is small enough that it is rarely verified in advance. The rules that cause problems are about timing.
The window after the original seat. Plans commonly refuse to pay a recement within a set period after the same office delivered the bridge, because the practice was already paid for seating it. Six months is common, and twelve months appears too. Hawaii Dental Service publishes the benefit as starting 6 months after insertion, then one every 12 months. Verify the window on the specific contract.
Patient billing inside the window. Under many participating-provider contracts, a recement inside the post-seat window is not billable to the patient either. It was included in the bridge fee, so the correct posting is a write-off. Read the provider agreement before transferring the balance, and record the office’s posting rule in the collections notes so it is applied the same way every time.
Frequency after the window opens. Plans usually cap the benefit, often at once per prosthesis per twelve months. Repeated recements on one bridge run out of benefit quickly, and some carriers read a third recement as evidence the bridge needs replacing.
Another office placed the bridge. The post-seat exclusion often does not apply when a different practice delivered the bridge, since it exists to prevent double payment to the same provider. Some carriers apply the window regardless.
Documentation that supports the claim
D6930 pays routinely and rarely needs a narrative. Add documentation when the claim is unusual:
- The seat date and who seated the bridge. This resolves post-seat denials. If another practice placed it, say so on the claim.
- The teeth involved: the abutments and the pontic span, so the carrier can match the recement to the bridge on file.
- A note that the prosthesis is serviceable, confirming it was intact and reseated, which separates a recement from a repair or replacement.
- A radiograph on a repeat recement. By the second or third recement, the carrier is deciding whether to keep paying recements or expect a replacement, and abutment condition answers that.
If an abutment turned out to be decayed or fractured, record it in the note whether or not the bridge was reseated. It supports the recement now and the replacement later. For how tooth numbers, the span, and remarks are entered on the claim, see the ADA dental claim form guide.
FAQs
- What is the dental code for recementing a bridge?
- D6930. It reports recementing or rebonding a fixed partial denture, the CDT term for a bridge, on natural teeth. Bill it once for the bridge, even if only one retainer crown released, not once per abutment or unit. D2920, the single-crown recement code, is the wrong code even though a crown is the part that let go.
- What's the difference between D6930 and D2920?
- Which prosthesis came off. The chairside work is the same: remove the old cement, clean the tooth, and lute the restoration back on. D2920 reports a standalone single crown. D6930 reports a fixed partial denture, a multi-unit bridge with retainers and at least one pontic, even when the chart note mentions a single loose retainer. Billing D2920 for a bridge misreports the service and can pay at the wrong fee or trigger a records request.
- The bridge is on implants. Is it still D6930?
- No. D6930 covers a bridge cemented to natural abutment teeth. An implant or abutment-supported bridge is D6093, and an implant or abutment-supported single crown is D6092. For a hybrid case with one natural and one implant abutment, the dentist has to say which support the claim reflects, and many carriers will want a narrative either way.
- Why did the carrier deny D6930 right after we seated the bridge?
- Most plans treat a recement shortly after delivery by the same office as part of the original bridge fee. Six months from the seat date is common; Hawaii Dental Service, for one, starts the recement benefit 6 months after insertion and then allows one every 12 months. The window is plan-dependent, so verify it. Inside the window the line pays zero and, under most contracts, is not billable to the patient either. A recement by a different office inside the window is often payable, so document who placed the bridge and when.
- Do I bill D6930 or D6980 if part of the bridge broke?
- D6930 only covers reseating a still-serviceable bridge. If porcelain fractured, a connector broke, or metal failed and the dentist repaired it, that is D6980. Cutting the bridge apart so part of it can stay is D9120. A bridge that is no longer usable and gets replaced is billed with the new retainer and pontic codes, not a recement code.
- How do I report tooth numbers on a D6930 claim?
- Report the bridge as one line and identify the span, usually as a tooth range covering the abutments and the pontic. Some carriers key the recement to the tooth numbers on file from the original bridge claim. If another office placed the bridge and the carrier has no history, add the seat date if the patient knows it and note that your practice did not place it.
Related codes
Need help billing this code?
We handle D6930 claims daily.
If your team is spending time on denials, narratives, or carrier follow-up for this code, our outsourced dental insurance billing service can take it off your plate. We submit the claims, post what comes back, and follow up on anything unpaid. Already sitting on older claims that never paid? Our AR cleanup project works the backlog.
“Claims, posting, denials, all of it gets handled, and it costs far less than hiring another employee. My front desk got hours of their week back, and honestly I just don't think about billing anymore.”
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.