The AAO will officially request that the American Dental Association Council on Dental Benefits revise the current dental claim form by removing Box 40 from the form.

Box 40 has traditionally appeared on the form to distinguish an orthodontic claim from other claims because orthodontic treatment is often a “stand-alone” benefit. In recent years, however, insurers have bundled adjunctive dental procedures such as extraction of teeth and exposure of impacted teeth into orthodontic treatment, thus reducing the limited lifetime orthodontic treatment benefit available to the patient. Orthodontics is the only dental specialty that is singled out in this manner and the AAO request will also point out that electronic billing and claim submissions make the “quick check” box unnecessary.

The AAO Board of Trustees voted to send the official request to the ADA when the Board met in St. Louis last month.