D7740 — Mandible — closed reduction (compound/open fracture)
One of the codes covering the surgical treatment of facial fractures and associated wounds. D7740 is the closed-reduction version for the lower jaw, where the fracture has broken through the skin or the mucosa.
There are 24 codes for facial fracture treatment and wound repair and they are not interchangeable. This page covers this one; the facial fracture treatment and wound repair guide covers the treatment they all share.
What follows: the specifics built into the number, the money, the benefit treatment, and the line separating it from the codes it is easiest to confuse it with.
What D7740 specifies
Bone — the lower jaw. The mandible is the most commonly fractured facial bone, and it often breaks in two places because it is a ring of bone. Muscle pull tends to displace the fragments, which is why the lower jaw needs fixation more often than the other facial bones do.
Technique — closed reduction. The fragments are manipulated back into position without cutting down to the bone, then held — commonly by wiring the upper and lower teeth together, or with an external appliance. Less surgery, a lower fee, and a shorter theatre time; the trade-off is less control over exactly how the pieces sit, so it suits fractures that are already close to their correct position.
Fracture type — compound (open). The fracture communicates with the outside, through a break in the skin or through the mouth, which means it is contaminated from the moment it happens. That changes the treatment: debridement, antibiotics and earlier intervention, and it puts the case in the higher-numbered half of the fracture range with a correspondingly higher fee.
Arch — lower. The bone is denser, but there is far less surface area to support anything removable and the nerve running through the jaw limits how aggressive surgery can be.
The nearby codes and how they differ
D7730 — Mandible — open reduction (compound/open fracture): It is the open-reduction version of the same injury — the bone is exposed and fixed directly, which is why it is the dearer of the two.
D7750 — Malar and/or zygomatic arch — open reduction (compound/open fracture): It is the same procedure on the cheekbone rather than the lower jaw, and by open reduction rather than closed.
D7720 — Maxilla — closed reduction (compound/open fracture): It is the same procedure on the upper jaw rather than the lower jaw.
D7760 — Malar and/or zygomatic arch — closed reduction (compound/open fracture): It is the same procedure on the cheekbone rather than the lower jaw.
D7740 sits in a group of 24 codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. The distinction is clinical, not administrative: each of these describes work that was genuinely done differently, and the fee follows the work.
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 D7740
D7740 — what is it?
D7740 records mandible, closed reduction, compound/open fracture — one of the oral and maxillofacial surgery codes.
What should I expect to pay for D7740?
Between $2,000–$9,000 in most practices — and that is the figure before any benefit is applied, not what you would pay at the desk.
Does dental insurance cover D7740?
Most plans include it under medical / oral surgery benefits, variable. A pre-treatment estimate is the only way to know your own number in advance.
What is the difference between D7740 and D7730?
D7730 is mandible, open reduction, compound/open fracture: it is the open-reduction version of the same injury — the bone is exposed and fixed directly, which is why it is the dearer of the two. Because that is the only difference, a reviewer who disagrees with it simply reprices the claim to D7730 rather than refusing it.
Also known as: jaw fracture, facial trauma, open reduction, closed reduction, maxillofacial injury.