Summary & Overview
CDT D4341: Periodontal Scaling and Root Planing, Four+ Teeth/Quadrant
Headline: CDT code D4341: Periodontal scaling and root planing for extensive quadrants
CDT code D4341 represents periodontal scaling and root planing involving four or more teeth in a single quadrant — a common, clinically significant procedure for treating moderate to advanced periodontal disease. Nationally, this code matters because it defines scope of care for non-surgical periodontal therapy, influences benefit determination across dental and medical plans, and can affect continuity of periodontal care and preventive maintenance pathways. Key payers addressed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, and UnitedHealthcare. Readers will find a concise policy and billing profile, clinical context, and operational considerations relevant to coverage and coding workflows. The publication outlines common clinical indications linked to this service, typical sites of service, and related procedure codes used before or after definitive periodontal therapy. It provides benchmarks for utilization and coding alignment, summarizes payer coverage patterns, and highlights documentation elements commonly required for claims adjudication. Where input data is incomplete, the report flags missing metadata and specifies "Data not available in the input." This summary is intended for billing managers, dental clinicians, practice administrators, and policy analysts seeking a clear, actionable reference on CDT code D4341 and its role within periodontal care delivery.
Billing Code Overview
CDT code D4341 denotes periodontal scaling and root planing for four or more teeth per quadrant. This procedure is a definitive periodontal therapy intended to remove plaque, calculus, and bacterial toxins from tooth roots to manage periodontal infection and inflammation. The service type is Dentistry, and the typical site of service is a dental office (POS 11).
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A patient presents to a dental office for evaluation after reporting bleeding gums, increased pocket depths, and localized mobility in the posterior quadrant. The diagnosis on evaluation is chronic periodontitis with involvement of four or more teeth in a single quadrant. The dentist performs a comprehensive periodontal evaluation (D0180), reviews radiographs, charts pocket depths, and determines that nonsurgical periodontal therapy is indicated. Periodontal scaling and root planing is performed on the affected quadrant, documented as periodontal scaling and root planing for four or more teeth per quadrant using CDT code D4341. Post-procedure instructions are provided, and a follow-up periodontal maintenance visit (D4910) is scheduled to monitor healing and response to therapy.
Coding Specifications
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Modifiers
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25- Significant, Separately Identifiable Evaluation and Management Service by the Same Dentist or Other Qualified Health Care Professional on the Same Day of the Procedure or Other Service: Use when a distinct evaluation or assessment (for example, a problem-focused oral/facial examination or medical evaluation) is documented on the same day asD4341and meets payer documentation requirements. -
59- Distinct Procedural Service: Use when another procedure performed on the same date is separate and distinct from the scaling and root planing procedure and documentation supports that the services are independent. -
Provider Taxonomies
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1223G0001X- General Practice Dentist: General dental practitioners who provide routine dental care including periodontal assessments and nonsurgical therapy. -
1223P0300X- Periodontics Dentist: Specialists in periodontal disease diagnosis and treatment who commonly perform scaling and root planing and periodontal maintenance. -
1223D0001X- Dental Public Health Dentist: Dentists focused on population-based oral health who may be involved in screening, prevention, and referral for periodontal therapy.
Related Diagnoses
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K05.6- Periodontal disease, unspecified- Clinical relevance: May be used when records indicate periodontal disease without specification of chronicity or type; supports the need for periodontal therapy such as
D4341.
- Clinical relevance: May be used when records indicate periodontal disease without specification of chronicity or type; supports the need for periodontal therapy such as
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K05.3- Chronic periodontitis- Clinical relevance: Indicates an established, chronic inflammatory periodontal condition often treated with scaling and root planing for multiple teeth in a quadrant.
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K05.4- Periodontosis- Clinical relevance: Refers to periodontal tissue destruction; documentation of tissue loss can support nonsurgical periodontal therapy including
D4341.
- Clinical relevance: Refers to periodontal tissue destruction; documentation of tissue loss can support nonsurgical periodontal therapy including
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K05.5- Other periodontal diseases- Clinical relevance: Covers periodontal conditions not specified elsewhere; may be used when clinical findings warrant periodontal intervention such as scaling and root planing.
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K05.2- Aggressive periodontitis- Clinical relevance: Describes rapidly progressing periodontitis that may require prompt scaling and root planing for affected quadrants; supports use of
D4341when four or more teeth per quadrant are treated.
- Clinical relevance: Describes rapidly progressing periodontitis that may require prompt scaling and root planing for affected quadrants; supports use of
Related Codes
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D1110- Prophylaxis - adult- Clinical relation: Routine prophylaxis is a preventive service; it is different from periodontal scaling and root planing.
D1110may be performed for routine gingival health but is not appropriate when active periodontitis requiring root planing is present.
- Clinical relation: Routine prophylaxis is a preventive service; it is different from periodontal scaling and root planing.
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D4910- Periodontal maintenance- Clinical relation: Periodontal maintenance follows active periodontal therapy such as
D4341. It is used for ongoing perio-level cleaning and monitoring after initial scaling and root planing.
- Clinical relation: Periodontal maintenance follows active periodontal therapy such as
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D4342- Periodontal scaling and root planing - one to three teeth per quadrant- Clinical relation:
D4342is used when scaling and root planing is required for fewer teeth in a quadrant. It is an alternative toD4341depending on the number of teeth treated in the quadrant.
- Clinical relation:
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D0180- Comprehensive periodontal evaluation- Clinical relation:
D0180documents the comprehensive periodontal assessment that often precedes a decision to performD4341. It establishes baseline pocket depths, clinical attachment levels, and treatment planning.
- Clinical relation:
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Across national payers, BUCA (average commercial) mean rates for CDT code D4341 sit between Medicare and large commercial payers: BUCA's mean of $128.58 is higher than the Medicare reference (no numeric Medicare mean provided in the input) but lower than the largest commercial payers such as UnitedHealthcare ($175.96) and Blue Cross Blue Shield ($163.97). Aetna and Cigna Health have mean rates near $100, with Aetna at $102.03 and Cigna Health at $99.61.
Dispersion measured as the difference between the 75th and 25th percentiles varies notably by payer. Blue Cross Blue Shield (range ≈ $60.40) and UnitedHealthcare (range ≈ $42.38) show the widest spreads, indicating higher rate variability. Cigna Health (range $17.00) and Aetna (range $17.00) have the tightest distributions. The table and chart below present the full numeric breakdown of mean rates and percentiles for each payer.
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