D7820 — Closed reduction of dislocation (TMJ)

What the code commits to

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 — simple (closed). The overlying skin and mucosa are intact, so the fracture site is not contaminated. These are the lower-numbered fracture codes and the lower fees; the same bone treated as a compound fracture has a separate code higher in the range.

D7820 against the codes beside it

D7810 — Open reduction of dislocation (TMJ): 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.

D7830 — Manipulation under anesthesia (TMJ): It manipulates the joint while the patient is anaesthetised, to free a joint that will not move under normal conditions.

D7840 — Condylectomy (TMJ): It removes the condyle, the ball at the top of the lower jaw, where disease has destroyed it.

D7850 — Surgical discectomy, with/without implant (TMJ): It removes the disc from inside the joint, with or without replacing it with an implant.

D7820 sits in a group of 22 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.