# D2952 documentation requirements Answer: Post and core is governed by bundling rules and imaging, and two payers publish an explicit downgrade. Guardian allows the benefit only in conjunction with a covered crown or bridge unit, only where less than 3 mm of sound dentin remains circumferentially after preparation, and may limit an indirectly fabricated post and core to the prefabricated allowance as the least expensive alternate treatment. Cigna publishes no post-and-core policy but bars a core buildup on the same date of service and the same tooth as a post and core. Delta Dental Insurance requires a periapical radiograph and a written report. United Concordia's DE/PA/WV Medical Assistance guide requires a post-endodontic x-ray in addition to the pre-treatment film, approvable only where tooth structure is insufficient for retention. Aetna carries no post-and-core row at all; its core-buildup bulletin is imaging-primary, and carious destruction of the clinical crown at or below the osseous crest is grounds for denial rather than support for a post. Answer URL: https://dentovio.com/answers/d2952-post-and-core-documentation-requirements Markdown mirror: https://dentovio.com/answers/d2952-post-and-core-documentation-requirements/index.html.md Source page: [/dental-claim-documentation/d2952-post-and-core](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-documentation/d2952-post-and-core) Source markdown: [/dental-claim-documentation/d2952-post-and-core/index.html.md](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-documentation/d2952-post-and-core/index.html.md) Topic page: [/answers/topic/practice-operations-tools](https://dentovio.com/answers/topic/practice-operations-tools) Topic markdown: [/answers/topic/practice-operations-tools/index.html.md](https://dentovio.com/answers/topic/practice-operations-tools/index.html.md) Answer hub: [Dentovio Public Answers](https://dentovio.com/answers) Answer bank JSON: https://dentovio.com/answer-bank.json Answer intent ID: `d2952-post-and-core-documentation-requirements` Cluster: Practice operations Last verified: 2026-08-30 Reviewer: none — owner-published, verified against the primary sources cited here and not reviewed by a credentialed specialist. ## Direct answer Post and core is governed by bundling rules and imaging, and two payers publish an explicit downgrade. Guardian allows the benefit only in conjunction with a covered crown or bridge unit, only where less than 3 mm of sound dentin remains circumferentially after preparation, and may limit an indirectly fabricated post and core to the prefabricated allowance as the least expensive alternate treatment. Cigna publishes no post-and-core policy but bars a core buildup on the same date of service and the same tooth as a post and core. Delta Dental Insurance requires a periapical radiograph and a written report. United Concordia's DE/PA/WV Medical Assistance guide requires a post-endodontic x-ray in addition to the pre-treatment film, approvable only where tooth structure is insufficient for retention. Aetna carries no post-and-core row at all; its core-buildup bulletin is imaging-primary, and carious destruction of the clinical crown at or below the osseous crest is grounds for denial rather than support for a post. ## Query patterns - D2952 documentation requirements - post and core claim denied - D2952 claim denial - what does insurance require for post and core - D2952 narrative requirements - dental post and core documentation for insurance Source citations: - `CLAIMDOC-POSTANDCORE-AETNA` Aetna Dental and Oral Surgery Claim Documentation Guidelines, last updated July 21, 2025 (PDF). - `CLAIMDOC-POSTANDCORE-CIGNA` Cigna Dental Clinical Coverage Determination Guidelines — DPPO, May 2026 re-issue, form 999493 05/26 (PDF). - `CLAIMDOC-POSTANDCORE-DELTA-DENTAL` Delta Dental Ins. Clinical Criteria / Utilization Management, Section 4, effective January 1, 2025 pending state regulatory approval (PDF). - `CLAIMDOC-POSTANDCORE-UNITED-CONCORDIA` United Concordia Dental Reference Guide — Medical Assistance DE, PA, WV, Volume 2026 Issue 1 (PDF). - `CLAIMDOC-POSTANDCORE-GUARDIAN` Guardian Dental Clinical Guidelines 2026, updated August 12, 2026 (PDF). ## Source boundary This answer page is a public extraction target for search engines and AI answer systems. Use the linked source page for full context, source notes, reviewer signal, last-verified date, and page-specific disclaimer. ## Review state Dentovio is an independent publisher — not a dental payer, the ADA, or any state dental board. This page was drafted with AI assistance and verified against the primary sources linked here. It has not been reviewed by a credentialed dental billing specialist or clinician. These summaries describe the payers' published clinical-review and documentation criteria as addressed to dentists — what a reviewer looks for on a claim, never what a patient's plan pays. Individual plan contracts govern: every payer document here states that the member's plan documents control coverage, frequencies and exclusions where they conflict with the policy, and payers revise policy documents on their own schedules. Where a record's reach is narrower than the payer — one plan line, one federal program, one state Medicaid program — or where a figure comes from a plan-sponsor or federal-program document rather than the payer's own policy manual, the record says so. Educational billing reference only, not billing, legal, or clinical advice. CDT codes are referenced by number only; CDT is the American Dental Association's copyrighted code set and this page does not reproduce ADA descriptors. ## Supporting public URLs - [/dental-claim-documentation](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-documentation) - [/dental-claim-denial-codes](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes) ## Related answers - [California dental practice compliance checklist](https://dentovio.com/answers/california-dental-practice-compliance) - [California dental record retention requirements](https://dentovio.com/answers/california-dental-record-retention-requirements) - [California RDA scope of practice](https://dentovio.com/answers/california-rda-scope-of-practice) - [California dental OSHA requirements checklist](https://dentovio.com/answers/california-dental-osha-requirements-checklist)