CPT 41806 Dentoalveolar Foreign Body Reimbursement | OpenPayer

Summary & Overview

CPT 41806: Dentoalveolar Bone Foreign Body Removal

CPT code 41806 designates surgical removal of an embedded foreign body from dentoalveolar bone. This code captures a targeted oral surgical intervention to locate and extract foreign material lodged in the alveolar process, an event relevant to dental trauma, retained surgical fragments, and penetrating injuries. Nationally, accurate coding of such procedures supports appropriate clinical documentation, resource tracking, and claims processing for oral and maxillofacial services.

Key payers addressed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context, typical settings where the procedure is performed, and the role of the code in billing workflows. The publication summarizes common modifiers associated with the code (input provided), notes where input data were unavailable, and identifies potential coding relationships and practice implications. Intended readers include billing professionals, dental and oral surgery clinicians, and policy analysts seeking clarity on coding classification and service definition for national-level comparisons and administrative guidance.

The content provides practical benchmarks and policy-relevant context where available. If stakeholders need payer-specific coverage rules or local reimbursement rates, those items require consultation of individual plan policies and fee schedules because such granular data are not included in the input.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicareCPT 41806oral surgerydentoalveolarforeign body removaldental procedureambulatory surgerybilling and codingsurgical service

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 41806 describes a surgical procedure in which the provider identifies a bone within the dentoalveolar structure that contains an embedded foreign body and removes that foreign body. The service type is surgical foreign-body removal from the dentoalveolar bone. The typical site of service is an outpatient dental or oral surgery setting, such as a dental clinic, oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic, or ambulatory surgical center.

Data not available in the input.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A typical patient is an adult who presents to an oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic or dental office after trauma or a penetrating injury to the mouth. The patient reports localized pain, swelling, or persistent irritation and imaging (periapical radiograph, panoramic radiograph, or CBCT) demonstrates a small metallic or nonmetallic foreign body embedded in the dentoalveolar bone (alveolar ridge, socket wall, or mandibular/maxillary cortical bone adjacent to a tooth). The clinical workflow includes history and focused oral examination, imaging to localize the foreign body, informed consent, administration of local anesthesia (with or without sedation), surgical approach through the soft tissue and bone exposure, careful removal of the foreign object, irrigation and hemostasis, and closure. Postoperative instructions include pain control, infection prevention, and follow-up for wound check and suture removal. Typical sites of service are outpatient oral surgery clinics, dental offices with surgical capabilities, ambulatory surgery centers, and less commonly hospital operating rooms for complex or comorbid cases. Common patient scenarios include retained fragments after dental extractions, ballistic or shrapnel injuries with intraoral penetration, accidental embedding of dental hardware, or accidental ingestion/penetration where part of the object lodges in alveolar bone and requires surgical removal under direct visualization. The procedure is typically performed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, oral surgeon, or a dentist with surgical training, occasionally by an otolaryngologist when access or concomitant facial injuries require their involvement.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use

CPT 41800: Incision and Drainage of Tooth-Related Abscess/Cyst

CPT-41805-DENTOALVEOLAR-FOREIGN-BODY-REMOVAL

CPT 41805: Dentoalveolar Soft Tissue Foreign Body Removal

22

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
122300000X	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	Primary specialty performing `41806`; expertise in dentoalveolar bone surgery.
1223P0200X	Oral Surgery	Common provider type in dental offices and ambulatory surgery settings for this procedure.
1223D0004X	Dentist	General dentists with surgical training may perform simple removals in-office.
207L00000X	Otolaryngology	ENT surgeons may perform removal when facial/craniofacial access or concomitant injuries exist.
2080S0003X	Oral Medicine	May be involved in diagnosis and coordination of care when mucosal or nonodontogenic issues coexist.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`S02.6XXA`	Fracture of tooth (initial encounter)	Tooth fractures with embedded fragments may require removal of tooth fragment from alveolar bone.
`S02.9XXA`	Fracture of skull and facial bones, unspecified (initial encounter)	Facial trauma with penetration into dentoalveolar bone can involve embedded foreign bodies needing removal.
`T14.8`	Other injury of unspecified body region	Used when a foreign body is identified after nonspecific oral injury and requires localization and removal.
`T15.8`	Foreign body in other specified body part	Applicable when a foreign body is lodged within the oral/dentoalveolar region and requires surgical removal.
`K08.8`	Other specified disorders of teeth and supporting structures	Relevant for retained root fragments or dental material embedded in alveolar bone requiring surgical extraction.
`K08.2`	Loss of teeth due to trauma, subsequent encounter	May be present in trauma cases where tooth loss and embedded debris require management and foreign body removal.
`M26.69`	Other disturbances of tooth eruption	Occasionally relevant when abnormal eruption traps a foreign object in alveolar bone requiring removal.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`41806`	Removal of embedded foreign body from dentoalveolar bone (as described)	Primary procedure: direct removal of foreign object from alveolar bone under direct vision.
`41800`	Excision of mucosal or soft tissue foreign body, intraoral; simple	Performed when foreign body is located in soft tissue only or after soft tissue exploration prior to bone exposure.
`41810`	Excision of bone, Alveolar, with removal of exostosis or lesion	Used for more extensive bone removal or when additional alveolar bone resection is required to access the object.
`21140`	Excision or drainage of mucosal and submucosal lesion, mandible or maxilla; complicated	Used when adjacent osseous lesion or abscess drainage is required in conjunction with foreign body removal.
`41815`	Removal of embedded foreign body; complicated or extensive	Used when removal is extensive or involves complex exposure beyond typical `41806` scope (if applicable and supported by documentation).
`70553`	CT scan of maxillofacial bones (without contrast)	Imaging often performed preoperatively (CBCT or maxillofacial CT) to localize the foreign body and plan surgical approach.

OpenPayer