D1351: Sealant, per tooth
A protective coating on the chewing surface of one tooth, billed tooth by tooth.
Billing notes
- MetLife, for example, pays sealants up to age 14 or 19 depending on the plan, on permanent molars with no filling or decay, once per tooth every 60 months.
- Adults are often not covered.
For how plans pay this kind of service, typical limits and what to check before quoting, read the sealants billing guide.
This is how plans usually handle this code, not how every plan does. The patient's own plan documents and the insurer decide what's paid.
CDT is a registered trademark of the American Dental Association. Tabruns is not affiliated with or endorsed by the ADA. The descriptions here are our own plain-English summaries, not the ADA's official wording; use your current CDT manual or practice software for the official code set. Code numbers as of the CDT 2025 code set. The ADA revises the set every year, effective January 1.
Sources
Read November 11, 2026. Where a source describes one insurer's plans, we say so.
Get the patient's share in dollars, from the benefits page
The code says what was done; the plan decides what D1351 pays. Tabruns reads the coverage, deductible, yearly maximum, waiting periods and frequency limits from the insurer's portal and works out what the patient owes. Patient details stay on the office computer.
Not ready? Try the free patient portion calculator.