D7280 — Exposure of an unerupted tooth (surgical access)
D7280 surgically uncovers a tooth that has not come through, so that it can erupt or be brought into line.
This is the most commonly reported of the 18 other oral surgical procedures codes, which is why it is the one people usually see on an estimate. The full account of the treatment is in our other oral surgical procedures guide.
This page explains what that code number commits the office to, what it usually costs, how plans treat it, and — the part that causes most of the confusion — how it differs from the codes sitting immediately either side of it.
Told apart from the codes it is confused with
D7283 — Placement of device to facilitate eruption of impacted tooth: It bonds a bracket or chain onto an exposed impacted tooth so that an orthodontist can pull it into position.
D7270 — Tooth reimplantation and/or stabilization of accidentally evulsed or displaced tooth: It puts a knocked-out or displaced tooth back into its socket and splints it while the ligament heals.
D7296 — Corticotomy — one to three teeth or tooth spaces, per quadrant: It scores the bone around one to three teeth to speed up orthodontic movement through it.
D7297 — Corticotomy — four or more teeth or tooth spaces, per quadrant: It is that same corticotomy across four or more teeth in the quadrant.
D7280 sits in a group of 18 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 D7280
What procedure is D7280?
D7280 is shorthand for exposure of an unerupted tooth, surgical access — the same five characters every practice and every insurer in the country uses for it.
Is D7280 expensive?
Plan for $400–$1,100 as the full fee. Two practices a few miles apart can sit at opposite ends of that range for the same work.
Does dental insurance cover D7280?
Most plans include it under major oral surgery benefits, variable. A pre-treatment estimate is the only way to know your own number in advance.
What is the difference between D7280 and D7283?
D7283 is placement of device to facilitate eruption of impacted tooth: it bonds a bracket or chain onto an exposed impacted tooth so that an orthodontist can pull it into position. They are different operations that happen to sit next to each other in the code set, so one is not an alternative way of billing the other.
Also known as: avulsed tooth, impacted canine exposure, oroantral fistula, salivary stone, vestibuloplasty.