Consumer-Friendly CDT 2024 on tap in February

New release uses simple sentences, straightforward language to convey information, help promote price transparency

The inaugural Consumer-Friendly CDT 2024 will become available in February for licensing by commercial users of CDT, which include third-party payers and practice management software vendors. 

“Consumer-Friendly CDT uses simple sentences and straightforward language to convey information, helping promote understanding and price transparency as  patients are more comfortable reading their description of services,” said Stacey Gardner, D.M.D., chair of the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs.

Consumer-Friendly CDT includes a translation of every CDT 2024 code and nomenclature in English and Spanish. CDT descriptors are included as needed when additional context will help explain the procedure.

The release of the Consumer-Friendly CDT 2024 will be accompanied by two other new Code sets — SNODENT two- and three-way maps that serve as an embedded mapping solutions. The two-way map connects SNODENT concepts for dental-related disorders and findings to ICD-10-CM disease classification codes, while the three-way map connects SNODENT and ICD-10-CM pairs to relevant CDT procedure codes.

SNODENT — an acronym for Systematized Nomenclature of Dentistry — is a set of terms created for use in electronic dental records and recognized by the American National Standards Institute as an ADA/ANSI standard.

Any commercial use of CDT, SNODENT or the maps requires a license. Licensees pay annual royalties for their usage of ADA content within their products and services.

“Administrative simplification leads to time and cost savings across the entire health care industry,” said Dr. Gardner. “These content files span to all dental specialties to provide a consistent and connected view of dental codes. ADA Coding content is the one authorized source of truth.”

For more information, visit ADA Code Sets: Licensing for Commercial Users.