D3421 — Apicoectomy — premolar (first root)
An apicoectomy is surgery at the tip of a root. D3421 is the version for a premolar.
One of nine apicoectomy and periradicular surgery codes. If you are trying to understand the treatment, start with the apicoectomy and periradicular surgery guide; if you are trying to understand this line on your estimate, you are in the right place.
What follows is the detail behind the number: the conditions the code sets, its typical fee, its usual benefit treatment, and a code-by-code comparison with its closest neighbours.
The specifics of D3421
Tooth — a premolar, narrower than a molar and often with a single root, sitting just inside the visible part of the smile.
Counted — per root rather than per tooth, so the total depends on the anatomy of the specific tooth being treated.
Where the line falls between D3421 and the rest
D3425 — Apicoectomy — molar (first root): It applies to molars rather than premolars.
D3426 — Apicoectomy — each additional root: It is the each-additional line that follows it.
D3427 — Periradicular surgery without apicoectomy: It is periradicular surgery in which the root tip is not cut off: the lesion is cleared and the area repaired, but the apex is left intact.
D3428 — Bone graft with periradicular surgery (single site): It is counted per site rather than per root.
D3421 sits in a group of nine codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. Where the codes sit this close together, the record of the appointment is what settles which one was earned. That is worth knowing before treatment rather than after.
Every code in this group
These codes describe the same broad procedure and differ in one respect each. Each has its own page with its own fee range and coverage notes.
Questions about D3421
D3421 — what is it?
D3421 records apicoectomy, premolar, first root — one of the endodontics codes.
Is D3421 expensive?
Most private fees fall in $1,000–$2,000. Geography accounts for more of that spread than anything clinical.
How do dental plans handle D3421?
Expect major / surgical handling — typically 50–80%. Submitting an estimate first turns that percentage into a number you can rely on.
What is the difference between D3421 and D3425?
D3425 is apicoectomy, molar, first root: it applies to molars rather than premolars. Nothing else separates them, which is exactly why a claim submitted under the wrong one of the two is such a common correction.
Also known as: apicoectomy, root end surgery, endodontic surgery, retrograde filling, periradicular surgery.