Service Descriptions and Limitations: Prosthodontic Services (Removable)

(A) General Conditions. The MassHealth agency pays for dentures services once per seven calendar years per member, subject to the age limitations specified in 130 CMR 420.428(B). MassHealth payment includes all services associated with the fabrication and delivery process, including all adjustments necessary in the six months following insertion. The member is responsible for all denture care and maintenance following insertion. The MassHealth agency does not pay for complete dentures when the member’s medical record indicates material limitations to the member’s ability to cooperate during the fabrication of the denture or to accept or function with the denture, or indications that the member does not intend to utilize the denture. (B) Prosthodontic Services. The MassHealth agency pays for complete dentures for all members. The MassHealth agency pays for immediate dentures, including relines and post insertion procedures and placement of identification, for members younger than 21 years old. (C) Denture Procedures. (1) All denture services require appropriate diagnostic quality radiographs to be taken and stored in the member’s chart. (2) As part of the denture fabrication process, the member must approve the teeth and setup in wax and try on the denture setup at a try-in visit before the dentures are processed. (3) The member’s identification must be on each denture. (4) All dentures must be initially inserted and subsequently examined and can be adjusted up to six months after the date of insertion by the dentist at reasonable intervals consistent with the community standards. (5) If a member does not return for the insertion of the completed processed denture, the provider is required to submit to the MassHealth agency written evidence on their office letterhead of at least three attempts to contact the member over a period of one month via certified mail return receipt requested. Upon providing documentation, the provider may be reimbursed a percentage of the denture fee to assist in covering costs. See 130 CMR 450.231: General Conditions of Payment. (D) Complete Dentures. Payment by the MassHealth agency for complete dentures includes payment for all necessary adjustments, including relines, as described in 130 CMR 420.428(E). (E) Removable Partial Dentures. The MassHealth agency pays for removable partial dentures if there are two or more missing posterior teeth or one or more missing anterior teeth, the remaining dentition does not have active periodontitis, and there is a favorable prognosis for treatment outcome. A tooth is considered missing if it is a natural tooth or a prosthetic tooth missing from a fixed prosthesis. Payment for a partial denture includes payment for all necessary procedures for fabrication including clasps and rest seats. (F) Replacement of Dentures. The MassHealth agency pays for the necessary replacement of dentures. The member is responsible for denture care and maintenance. The member, or persons responsible for the member’s custodial care, must take all possible steps to prevent the loss of the member’s dentures. The provider must inform the member of the MassHealth agency’s policy on replacing dentures and the member’s responsibility for denture care. The MassHealth agency does not pay for the replacement of dentures if the member’s denture history reveals any of the following: (1) repair or reline will make the existing denture usable; (2) any of the dentures made previously have been unsatisfactory due to physiological causes that cannot be remedied; (3) a clinical evaluation suggests that the member will not adapt satisfactorily to the new denture; (4) no medical or surgical condition in the member necessitates a change in the denture or a requirement for a new denture; (5) the existing denture is less than seven years old and no other condition in this list applies; (6) the denture has been relined within the previous two years, unless the existing denture is at least seven years old; (7) there has been marked physiological change in the member’s oral cavity, and any further reline has a poor prognosis for success; or (8) the loss of the denture was not due to extraordinary circumstances such as a fire in the home. (G) Complete Denture Relines. The MassHealth agency pays for chairside and laboratory complete denture relines. Payment for dentures includes any relines or rebases necessary within six months of the insertion date of the denture. The MassHealth agency pays for subsequent relines once every three calendar years per member.