D3450 — Root amputation — per root
D3450 cuts one root off a multi-rooted tooth and leaves the rest of the tooth in place, billed per root.
Of the eleven codes covering root resection and related procedures, this is the one that appears most often on treatment plans, so it is the figure most people are quoted. For the procedure itself — how the appointments run, how long the result lasts, what the alternatives are — see our root resection and related procedures guide.
Everything below is specific to this code: what it pins down, what it is worth, how a payer handles it, and which codes it is not.
What the code commits to
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 D3450 and the rest
D3460 — Endodontic endosseous implant: It is the endodontic implant, a post passed through the root into the bone beneath to stabilise a tooth — a historic procedure.
D3470 — Intentional reimplantation: It takes the tooth out deliberately, treats it outside the mouth, and puts it back into its socket.
D3471 — Surgical repair of root resorption — anterior: It surgically repairs resorption eating into the root of a front tooth.
D3472 — Surgical repair of root resorption — premolar: It is that same root-resorption repair on a premolar.
D3450 sits in a group of eleven codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. The safest question to ask is not "what does this cost" but "which code is going on the claim". The first answer changes; the second decides the first.
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 D3450
D3450 — what is it?
On a claim, D3450 tells the insurer that what was performed was root amputation, per root.
How much does D3450 cost?
Most private fees fall in $400–$1,100. Geography accounts for more of that spread than anything clinical.
Is D3450 a covered benefit?
Plans generally pay it as major / surgical treatment, variable, subject to whatever is left of your maximum for the year.
What is the difference between D3450 and D3460?
D3460 is endodontic endosseous implant: it is the endodontic implant, a post passed through the root into the bone beneath to stabilise a tooth — a historic procedure. The two are neighbours by number rather than by treatment, so seeing both on a plan usually means both were genuinely planned.
Also known as: root amputation, hemisection, decoronation, root resorption, intentional reimplantation.