D7971 — Excision of pericoronal gingiva
D7971 removes the flap of gum lying over a partly erupted tooth, most often the wisdom-tooth gum that keeps trapping food and swelling.
This code belongs to a set of eleven covering ridge and soft-tissue reshaping. The clinical detail lives in the ridge and soft-tissue reshaping guide; the code-level detail is here.
This page sets out the conditions the code carries, what practices charge for it, how a plan is likely to assess it, and the named difference between it and each of its neighbours.
Told apart from the codes it is confused with
D7970 — Excision of hyperplastic tissue — per arch: It is the same procedure specified for hyperplastic tissue per arch rather than for pericoronal gingiva.
D7972 — Surgical reduction of fibrous tuberosity: It reduces a fibrous tuberosity — the same bulge behind the upper molars, but soft tissue rather than bone.
D7485 — Surgical reduction of osseous tuberosity: It trims down an osseous tuberosity, the bony bulge behind the last upper molar, so a denture can extend over it.
D7473 — Removal of torus mandibularis: It removes a torus mandibularis, the bony bump on the tongue side of the lower jaw that gets in the way of a lower denture.
D7971 sits in a group of eleven codes in total; the remainder are linked at the foot of this page. These distinctions exist because they change what was actually done. A claim for D7971 when the record describes one of the others is not a technicality — it is the difference between a paid claim and a returned one.
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 D7971
What does dental code D7971 mean?
Excision of pericoronal gingiva. It belongs to the oral and maxillofacial surgery section of the code set.
Is D7971 expensive?
The usual range is $200–$600. Anything well outside it is worth a question rather than an assumption.
How do dental plans handle D7971?
It normally falls under major oral surgery cover, typically 50–80%. Whether a particular claim is paid depends more on your history with the plan than on the code.
What is the difference between D7971 and D7970?
D7970 is excision of hyperplastic tissue, per arch: it is the same procedure specified for hyperplastic tissue per arch rather than for pericoronal gingiva. Everything else about the appointment is identical, so the record has to show that one detail for D7971 to be the defensible code.
Also known as: alveoloplasty, torus removal, bony lump, ridge reshaping, denture preparation.