D7997 — Appliance removal (not by the dentist who placed it)
D7997 removes an appliance that a different dentist placed, and is billed by the practice picking the case up.
This is one of 24 closely related facial fracture treatment and wound repair codes. The treatment is explained in full in the facial fracture treatment and wound repair guide — this page is about what makes this particular code different.
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.
Not to be confused with
D7998 — Intraoral fixation device (not for a fracture): It fits an intraoral device to stabilise teeth for some reason other than a fracture.
D7920 — Skin graft (oral/maxillofacial): It grafts skin to an oral or facial site, usually to close a defect left by surgery or injury.
D7912 — Complicated suture — greater than 5 cm: It is the complicated variant, requiring a supporting narrative.
D7911 — Complicated suture — up to 5 cm: It is the complicated variant, requiring a supporting narrative.
D7997 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 D7997
What does dental code D7997 mean?
The procedure behind the number is appliance removal, not by the dentist who placed it, filed under oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Is D7997 expensive?
$150–$500 is the realistic range before benefits. Your own share depends on your plan's percentage, deductible and remaining annual maximum.
How do dental plans handle D7997?
Plans generally pay it as medical / oral surgery treatment, variable, subject to whatever is left of your maximum for the year.
What is the difference between D7997 and D7998?
D7998 is intraoral fixation device, not for a fracture: it fits an intraoral device to stabilise teeth for some reason other than a fracture. They share a section of the code set and very little else, so the comparison worth making is on what each involves rather than on which is cheaper.
Also known as: jaw fracture, facial trauma, open reduction, closed reduction, maxillofacial injury.