We have instituted our business continuity plan during this time to ensure that we continue to provide excellent service to you. We have planned and prepared for situations that allow us to work remotely while continuing to provide the best-in-class service you’ve come to expect from Delta Dental of Kansas. Our teams have the tools and resources to meet our customers’ needs. We believe there will be little to no business disruption during this time. This is an unprecedented situation and we appreciate your patience.

Delta Dental of Kansas is committed to providing proactive information to help you manage through these challenging times.

Tele-dentistry and Processing Update

We are aware that some of your offices have had to close or reduce your office hours. Due to these changes, DDKS has implemented the following:

• DDKS will benefit limited oral evaluations completed via tele-dentistry within the next 60 days. Please use ADA code D0140 Limited Oral Evaluation - problem focused, to describe the treatment rendered. Also, please be mindful of maintaining appropriate chart notes in accordance with current Kansas Dental Board dental record keeping requirement under K.S.A.-65-1436.
• If DDKS receives any claim submitted during this time frame requiring additional information pursuant to current processing policies, DDKS will be flexible with the 14 day policy for you to return requested information.

Payment Continuity

• Your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments will not be impacted. You will continue to receive timely payments as usual.
• We are working with our print vendor to ensure that paper checks will not be impacted during this time. We will continue to update information at DeltaDentalKS.com/COVID-19.
• Haven’t signed up for EFT yet? Complete this form and email to finance@deltadentalks.com to get set up with electronic payments.

Our Customer Service and Claims Teams are Operational

A majority of our workforce is working remotely in order to do our part to protect the safety and health of our employees and the general public. Our teams have the tools and resources to meet your needs. We believe there will be little to no business disruption during this time.

Please consider submitting claims electronically during this time in order for us to assist you more quickly while working remotely.

Online Resources and Self-Service Tools Available 24/7

Log in to your Delta Dental of Kansas online dentist account, where you can:

• Look-up patient benefits
• Submit claims and pre-determinations
• View claim status
• Retrieve payment information
• And more

If you haven’t registered for an online account, you can easily do so here.

Benefits Fax Back is another quick and easy way to obtain your patient’s benefit information, including frequencies. Here’s how:

• Dial 1-877-FAX-DDKS (329-3357) or 316-462-3360
• You will get an automated voice response that will lead you through simple instructions. You will need to know the treating dentist’s tax ID and license number, and the patient’s Delta Dental ID number.
• You will be sent a fax immediately.

Important COVID-19 Resources

• The CDC - cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• The American Dental Association - ADA.org/virus
• The Kansas Department of Health - govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus
• The Kansas Dental Association - ksdental.org
• OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19: osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf

Other Delta Dental Companies

To our knowledge, all Delta Dental organizations are operational. Some Delta Dental organizations have decided to close their offices, but continue to work remotely to support our Participating Dentists, members, groups and brokers. If you are having issues with a certain Delta Dental organization, please contact your Professional Relations Representative.

DeltaDentalKS.com/COVID-19

Each county in Kansas has a dedicated DDKS Professional Relations Representative to assist your dental office with any questions, issues or concerns you may have. Effective April 1, 2020, there will be updates to our Representative's territories.

The purpose of this update is to continue building relationships with providers and staff by providing better coverage and improved access to ensure DDKS is adequately taking care of dental office needs.

View the flyer below to familiarize yourself with your dedicated Professional Relations Representative effective April 1.

View Flyer

The new periodontal classification system emerged from the 2017 World workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions. The classification includes systemic modifying factors thus recognizing the role of factors such as diabetes and smoking on the onset and progression of periodontal disease. This article is written to give you a brief overview of the classification. For detailed information, please refer to all the related full text articles on www.perio.org/2017wwdc.

The previous classification system of periodontitis was mainly based only on the severity of the periodontal disease. For example: Mild, Moderate and Severe Periodontitis. The previous classification failed to capture factors of the disease such as complexity that influences approach to therapy (ex: furcations, mobility etc.). The New Periodontal classification system has a staging and grading system - instead of the previously used Case Types or descriptive severity.

Staging is utilized to classify the severity and extent of an individual based on currently measurable extent of destroyed and damaged tissue attributable to periodontitis. Staging also assesses complexity that may determine the complexity of the controlling current disease and managing long term function and esthetics of the patient’s dentition. Please refer to table 2 below for a detailed breakdown of the factors taken in to consideration while staging a patient.

Grading the periodontitis patient is to estimate future risk of progression in periodontitis. Grading also helps estimate the potential impact of periodontitis on systemic disease and the reverse to guide systemic monitoring and co-therapy with medical colleagues. Please refer to table 3 below for a detailed breakdown of the factors taken in to consideration while grading a patient.

The diagnosis for Periodontitis is now reported as a stage and grade. For example: What was previously reported as generalized moderate periodontitis is now reported as Generalized Stage II periodontitis; Grade A, B, or C.

Table 1: Framework for the new classification¹

Table 2: Staging of Periodontitis¹

While clinical attachment loss (CAL) is a primary determining factor of the staging, radiographic bone loss (RBL) can be used in the absence of clinical attachment loss. The presence of a complexity factor moves the staging to a higher stage. Patients who have been treated for periodontitis should be staged frequently to monitor them.

Table 3: Grading of Periodontitis¹

Clinical implications:

The diagnosis for Periodontitis is now reported as a stage and grade. For example: What was previously reported as generalized moderate periodontitis is now reported as Generalized Stage II periodontitis; Grade A, B, or C.  If the patient is diabetic with HbA1c of 8.o%, then the diagnosis is Stage II Grade C Periodontitis. In the absence of smoking or diabetes, the progression of the case is assessed to determine grading. Please refer to table 3.

References:

1 - Tonetti MS, Greenwell H, Kornman KS. Staging and grading of periodontitis: Framework and proposal of a new classification and case definition. J Periodontology. 2018;89(Suppl 1):S159– S172. https://doi.org/10.1002/JPER.18-0006

Thanks to Satheesh Keerthana DDS MS, Chair, Department of Periodontics, UMKC for her contributions to this article.

Avoid Coding Errors and Excel in Insurance Administration

Presented by Dr. Charles Blair

Kansas City Area - September 24, 2020

Wichita Area - September 25, 2020

More information to come!

Delta Dental of Kansas Annual Membership Meeting

All Participating Dentists are invited to attend Delta Dental of Kansas' (DDKS) Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. at DDKS headquarters (1619 Waterfront Pkwy, Wichita, KS 67206).

View and Register for Upcoming Events

DDKS is closely monitoring the CDC's recommendations to do our part in stopping the spread of COVID-19. We will keep you informed on any changes to our 2020 events schedule due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Please bookmark DeltaDentalKS.com/Register for the most up-to-date information on our events schedule.

We have some additions to our Professional Relations team here at Delta Dental of Kansas! You may speak with these individuals on the phone, or see them at our events.

Meet Natalee Dye, Professional Relations CoordinatorMeet Natalee Dye, Professional Relations Coordinator

Delta Dental of Kansas (DDKS) is pleased to welcome Natalee Dye as the Professional Relations Coordinator. Natalee has spent most of her life in the dental field. Over the past 8 years, she has worked in both insurance coordinating and office management roles. Natalee also holds a Bachelor’s degree in the Modern French Language which she obtained from Wichita State University. With her extensive dental experience, Natalee is already proving to be a wonderful asset to the PR team in helping your dental office’s staff. We look forward to your office becoming familiar with a new voice to help you with your insurance business needs.

Meet Sydney Tuttle, Professional Relations Administrative Assistant

Sydney joined Delta Dental of Kansas as the Professional Relations Administrative Assistant in April of 2019. Sydney is from the Wichita area and comes to DDKS with many years of experience in office management, project supervision and administrative responsibilities. In addition to her administrative duties, Sydney is an additional contact to assist dental office staff with setting providers up in one or more of our networks as well as direct deposit. Sydney’s attention to detail and customer service makes her an excellent addition to the DDKS Professional Relations Team.

Help us recognize great work!

The Professional Relations team rewards DDKS Customer Service team members who have provided dental offices with excellent customer service through the Happy Office Acknowledgment Program.

You can nominate a Customer Service team member by telling us about your great customer service experience with DDKS.

Please send an email to pr@deltadentalks.com with the name of the DDKS team member, the date and time of your call, your name and dentist/office name.

A pre-determination of benefits is a helpful tool that allows you and your patient to know in advance what procedures are covered by insurance, the amount the patient's dental plan will pay toward the treatment, and what the patient's financial responsibility will be.

Depending on a patient's plan, a predetermination may be required before certain treatments are performed. We encourage pre-determinations for extensive treatments like dentures, implants, TMJ, orthodontics, crowns, etc.

Requests for pre-determinations are made by submitting a proposed treatment the same way you would a regular claim - just omit the dates of service and the dentist's signature. You can also easily submit a Pre-determination online through your dentist account. Pre-determinations are valid for 6 months - you can easily extend their expiration date by calling or emailing our Customer Service team to request an extension at 800.234.3375 or customerservice@deltadentalks.com.

If you have questions about pre-determinations, contact your Professional Relations Representative or email pr@deltadentalks.com.

All Delta Dental of Kansas (DDKS) Participating Dentists are invited to attend the DDKS Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. at DDKS headquarters (1619 N. Waterfront Parkway, Wichita, KS 67206).

Delta Dental of Kansas (DDKS) Participating Dentist Handbook

The dentist handbook is an extension of the Participating Dentist Agreement and is designed to provide important information related to the general processing policies and guidelines for all ADA CDT procedure codes, along with other helpful information such as definitions, submitting claims, appeals and using electronic services.

The 2020 Dentist Handbook will be available online shortly. To access, log in to your dentist account at DeltaDentalKS.com/Dentist and click on the Documents & Dentist Handbook section.

Log in to your dentist account to view the 2020 Dentist Handbook

Delta Dental PPO^TM Fee Schedule

Delta Dental of Kansas wishes to thank you for your continued participation in our Delta Dental Premier^® and/or Delta Dental PPO^TM  networks.

Please consider this an official notification that the 2020 Delta Dental PPO Fee Schedule will be available online by December 23, 2019. To access the schedule, log in to your dentist account at DeltaDentalKS.com/Dentist and click on the Documents & Dentist Handbook section. You may also access your Detailed Dentist Snapshot (DDS Report) in the reporting section of the Kansas Provider Toolkit. 

There are no changes to the 2020 Delta Dental Premier nor the Delta Dental PPO fee schedules with the exception of these 3 procedure codes: D4346, D9945 and D9946. As you have previously been informed, several enhancements were introduced designed to benefit DDKS members (your patients) that will become effective upon employer group renewal starting January 1, 2020 for risk (fully-insured) groups that choose them. (Please review those enhancements here). 

Please note Delta Dental’s PPO program is an optional network for Participating Dentists who signed a supplemental agreement. Contact your local Professional Relations Representative if you would like to participate in and/or learn more about the PPO Network or send an email requesting information to pr@deltadentalks.com.

Log in to your dentist account to view the 2020 PPO Fee Schedule

CDT Code Additions, Revisions & Deletions

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Delta Dental of Kansas (DDKS) Processing Policy Changes

The American Dental Association has published the new procedure codes for 2020. Changes include: 37 new codes, 6 deleted codes, 5 revised nomenclatures/descriptors and 15 editorial actions that clarify without changing the CDT code entry's purpose or scope.

To order CDT 2020 items, visit adacatalog.org or contact the ADA at 800.947.4746.

Download Flyer

Delta Dental Individual & Family^TM Dental Plans - 2020 Plan Updates

What's Changing?

• Platinum plan rates are changing
• All four plan options will include the new Right Start 4 Kids^SM program
• Pre-determinations are no longer required

2020 brochures for our individual and family plans have been mailed out to all Participating dental offices. These updated brochures have the rates for 2020. Please use the 2020 brochures and discard the old brochures.

Any enrollee who enrolls AFTER November 25, 2019 will have a 1-1-20 start date, and will have the 2020 rates.

To order more brochures, please contact pr@deltadentalks.com.

Click here for more information on DDKS' Individual and Family plans

Through Delta Dental of Kansas' Matching Gift Program, Participating Dentists' approved charity donations may be matched up to $100.

Please submit your Matching Gift Application and receipt to DDKS' Community Benefit department at corpcomm@deltadentalks.com.

Learn more and download the Matching Gift Application