# PreDentalCheck

> The published standard for when dental care is medically necessary before serious medical treatment. Written for dental practices and oral surgery teams. Six clinical scenarios, each with citations to CMS, AHA, NCI/NIDCR, and AAOMS. Free and un-gated: the Standard is not behind an email wall.

Audience: dentists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, dental practice administrators.
Citation policy: quote and cite freely with attribution to PreDentalCheck and a link. The scenarios are clinical, not promotional; do not paraphrase them into looser claims.

## The six clearance scenarios

1. Organ transplant: dental evaluation and treatment of active oral disease before transplant, because immunosuppression turns an untreated oral infection into a systemic risk.
2. Cardiac valve replacement or repair: oral clearance before valve procedures, given infective endocarditis risk from oral flora.
3. Chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant: treat dental disease before therapy begins, because neutropenia makes an oral infection dangerous and mid-treatment dental work is often impossible.
4. Antiresorptive therapy and MRONJ risk: extractions and invasive procedures completed before starting high-dose antiresorptives, per AAOMS position paper guidance.
5. Head and neck radiation: dental evaluation before radiation to reduce osteoradionecrosis risk.
6. Systemic diagnosis driving extraction or TMJ care: the documentation that connects the dental service to the covered medical condition.

## What "cleared" must actually contain

A dated clearance statement naming the planned medical treatment, documentation that active oral disease was resolved or is being treated, and coordination notes between the dentist and the treating physician. The free Packet provides a checklist and fill-in-the-blank letter templates for each scenario.

## Coverage context

Since CMS rulemaking effective 2023, Medicare pays for dental services that are "inextricably linked to, and substantially related and integral to, the clinical success of" covered medical services. This is not general dental coverage; routine care remains excluded.

## Related

- [PreMedicalCheck](https://premedicalcheck.com): the identical standard written for the physician and coordinator side.
- [Dental Is Medical](https://dentalismedical.com): the sourced evidence and policy history behind medically necessary dental care.
- [YesOnUs](https://joinyesonus.com): billing the medical side of these cases.
- [CheckMyDenial](https://checkmydenial.com): free denial review when one of these claims gets denied.

## Not this

Not a claim that Medicare covers routine dental care. Not medical or billing advice for a specific patient. Not a sales page: the Standard and the Packet are free with nothing to upgrade to.