Summary & Overview
CPT 41830: Removal of Alveolar Process Including Inflamed or Dead Bone
CPT code 41830 denotes surgical removal of part of the alveolar process, including inflamed and necrotic bone. Nationally, this procedure is a focused oral and maxillofacial surgical service used to treat localized jawbone disease that compromises the alveolar ridge and tooth-supporting structures. It is relevant for surgical practices, dental specialists, and payers managing coverage for oral surgery procedures.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise clinical context for the procedure, typical sites of service, and the common payer landscape. The publication summarizes benchmark considerations, common billing modifiers (listed separately), and coding relationships when available.
This summary provides clinicians and billing professionals with the information needed to identify the procedure, understand where it is typically performed, and recognize the primary payers involved in national coverage discussions. Data not provided in the input—such as associated taxonomies, specific ICD-10 diagnosis codes, and related procedure codes—are indicated as unavailable and are not included here.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 41830 describes a surgical procedure in which the provider removes a portion of the alveolar process, including inflamed and necrotic (dead) bone. This procedure addresses localized disease of the jawbone associated with the tooth-supporting alveolar ridge.
-
Service type: Surgical debridement/removal of alveolar bone
-
Typical site of service: Oral and maxillofacial surgery setting, commonly performed in an ambulatory surgical center, hospital outpatient department, or dental/oral surgery clinic
Data not available in the input.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 58-year-old patient presents with chronic mandibular pain, persistent gingival swelling, and a non-healing extraction site after prior tooth removal. Imaging (panoramic radiograph or CT) demonstrates sequestrum and areas of necrotic alveolar bone consistent with alveolitis/osteonecrosis. After failed conservative management including antibiotics and local debridement, the oral and maxillofacial surgeon schedules a surgical procedure to remove the infected and nonviable portion of the alveolar process. The patient arrives to the ambulatory surgery center (or hospital outpatient department for complex cases) after standard preoperative assessment, including medical history, medication reconciliation (notably anticoagulants or bisphosphonate exposure), and informed consent. Under local anesthesia with conscious sedation or general anesthesia when indicated, the surgeon elevates full-thickness mucoperiosteal flaps, identifies and removes inflamed and dead bone (sequestrectomy and alveoloplasty as needed), achieves hemostasis, irrigates the site, and closes the wound. Postoperative instructions include analgesia, antibiotics if indicated, and scheduled follow-up for wound inspection and potential staged reconstruction or prosthetic planning. Typical sites of service are the ambulatory surgery center or hospital outpatient department; the service type is surgical—oral/maxillofacial surgical debridement of alveolar process.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
22 | Increased procedural service | Use when work required is substantially greater than typically required (extensive debridement, unusually difficult dissection). |