Periodontal maintenance is D4910. That is the whole of the CDT code perio maintenance answer, and it is where most teams stop reading. D4910 is a therapeutic procedure that follows completed periodontal therapy, covers the whole mouth as a single unit, includes site specific scaling and root planing where needed, and repeats at intervals the dentist sets. Getting it paid takes three more things: proof the active therapy happened, a frequency the plan allows, and the knowledge that the visit has probably left the preventive category.
What is the CDT code for periodontal maintenance?
D4910, with the nomenclature periodontal maintenance. The CDT descriptor places the procedure after periodontal therapy and has it continuing at varying intervals, determined by the clinical evaluation of the dentist, for the life of the dentition or any implant replacements. It includes removal of bacterial plaque and calculus from supragingival and subgingival regions, site specific scaling and root planing where indicated, and polishing.
Three consequences follow, and they account for most D4910 claim trouble.
It is not a cleaning at a higher fee. D1110 controls local irritational factors in a patient without periodontitis. D4910 is ongoing therapy for a patient treated for it. Different intent, different category, different documentation.
It is a full mouth code. No quadrant unit, no per arch version. One date of service, one line, quantity one.
It does not pair with the codes it follows. D4910 is not reported on the same date of service as D1110, D4341, D4342, D4346 or D4355.
One more confusion: D0180 is the comprehensive periodontal evaluation, an exam code. It is reported alongside maintenance at your exam interval, not in place of it.
The codes D4910 sits between
| Code | Nomenclature, short form | Use it when | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1110 | Prophylaxis, adult | No periodontitis, routine plaque and calculus removal | Per visit |
| D4346 | Scaling with generalized moderate or severe gingival inflammation, full mouth | Inflamed, bleeding tissue, no attachment loss | Full mouth |
| D4355 | Full mouth debridement to enable evaluation on a subsequent visit | Deposits block the exam, evaluation happens later | Full mouth |
| D4342 | Scaling and root planing, one to three teeth per quadrant | Localized disease, list the tooth numbers | Per quadrant |
| D4341 | Scaling and root planing, four or more teeth per quadrant | Active therapy for periodontitis | Per quadrant |
| D4910 | Periodontal maintenance | Active therapy complete, patient on an ongoing interval | Full mouth |
| D0180 | Comprehensive periodontal evaluation | Probing, charting, risk assessment, exam only | Per visit |
All of those are CDT, the dental code set. Our guide to the differences between CDT and CPT codes in dentistry covers where the line falls, and maintenance sits firmly on the dental side of it, unlike the procedures in medical billing for TMJ treatments in a dental office.
There is also no CDT code for periodontal charting. Probing depths, recession, furcation and mobility are components of the evaluation codes, chiefly D0180, not separately billable.
What is CDT code D4341?
D4341 is periodontal scaling and root planing, four or more teeth per quadrant. The CDT descriptor covers instrumentation of crown and root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus, and calls the procedure therapeutic rather than prophylactic. D4342 is the same for one to three teeth.
It matters here because D4341 is usually the active therapy that makes maintenance reportable at all. The sequence payers expect is diagnosis, quadrant therapy, re-evaluation, then D4910.
Assume every D4341 claim will be asked for dated probing depths, tooth numbers per quadrant, and radiographs showing bone loss. Review thresholds are frequently quoted around pocket depths of 4 or 5 mm, but that is a plan design choice rather than a clinical standard, so verify it before you schedule the quadrants. For a case moving from quadrant therapy into surgery, a predetermination settles the argument before chair time is spent, using the mechanics in our guide to getting a pre-determination approved.
Three plan rules that decide whether D4910 pays
Plan provisions are chosen by employer groups, so none of the following belongs to a carrier as a whole. Each belongs to the plan in front of you, and each has to be asked about by code.
History of active therapy. Most plans will not pay D4910 unless a prior D4341, D4342 or periodontal surgery appears in their claim history. If that therapy was done elsewhere, the payer has no record of it. Send the date and code of it, plus a narrative, with the first maintenance claim rather than waiting for the denial.
Frequency, and whether it is shared. The common design counts D4910 and D1110 against one combined allowance, most often two per benefit year. Some plans allow three or four, some allow maintenance only in alternation with a prophylaxis, and some count on a rolling twelve months instead. A patient on a three month interval runs out under a two per year plan, which is a conversation for January, not April.
Timing after active therapy. Four to six weeks is the commonly quoted clinical re-evaluation interval after scaling and root planing. Payer waiting periods are a separate rule and range from none to around ninety days. Ask for the number.
Two more provisions belong in the same call. Some plans pay D4910 at the D1110 allowable after a period of stability, which is an alternate benefit rather than a denial and usually is not appealable. Some apply the annual maximum and deductible where neither touched the prophylaxis.
What the move from D1110 to D4910 costs the patient
Illustrative numbers, not a fee survey. Run your own allowables through the rows.
| Line | D1110 as preventive | D4910 as basic |
|---|---|---|
| Office fee | 130 | 175 |
| Contracted allowable | 98 | 132 |
| Contractual write off | 32 | 43 |
| Category coinsurance | 100 percent | 80 percent |
| Deductible applied | None | 50, if still unmet |
| Plan pays | 98 | 65.60 |
| Patient owes | 0 | 66.40 |
Once the deductible is met, each later visit that year pays 105.60 and leaves the patient 26.40. Someone who paid nothing for cleanings last year now pays at every visit, at a shorter interval, against a maximum the cleanings never touched. Heard in advance, that is accepted. Read on a statement, it becomes a phone call accusing the office of changing the code for money.
What the claim and the chart have to show
Have ready the dated periodontal chart with six point probing, the date and code of the completed active therapy, radiographs within the payer's limit, and a short narrative. One that gets read looks like this.
Four quadrants of D4341 completed 03/14/2026. Re-evaluation 05/02/2026 showed probing depths reduced to 3 to 5 mm with bleeding on probing at twelve sites. Patient is on a three month periodontal maintenance interval. Today's visit, 09/12/2026, included full mouth probing, site specific scaling and root planing at teeth 3, 14 and 19, and polishing. Generalized horizontal bone loss is visible on bitewings dated 03/14/2026.
Dates, tooth numbers, measurements. Anything shorter reads as a template and gets treated as one.
When the remittance comes back short
| What the remittance says | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Benefit maximum for this period reached, often CARC 119 | The shared D1110 and D4910 count is used up | Check the frequency you were quoted, cite the reference number, or bill the patient if the plan permits |
| Paid at the prophylaxis rate | An alternate benefit provision, not an error | Rarely appealable, so quote the difference in advance next time |
| No history of periodontal therapy | No prior D4341 or surgery on file with this payer | Resubmit with the date and code of the prior therapy and a narrative |
| Not payable with another service on the same date | D4910 was billed with D1110, D4341, D4346 or D4355 | Correct the claim, these are not reported together |
| Additional information required | The payer wants the chart | Send probing depths and dated radiographs |
Reading the adjustment and remark codes correctly is the difference between a resubmission and a write off, and our guide to CARC, RARC and CAGC codes for dental teams covers the common ones. If regenerative surgery preceded the maintenance, the graft line has its own denial pattern, covered in why was my dental bone graft claim denied.
What is CDT code D2952 used for?
It turns up in the same search session as D4910 often enough to answer here. D2952 is post and core in addition to crown, indirectly fabricated: the post and core are custom made as a single unit, and the code is reported in addition to the crown, not instead of it. D2954 is the prefabricated version, D2950 a core buildup with no post.
What does the CDT code D3333 represent?
D3333 is internal root repair of perforation defects, a non surgical seal placed from within the canal space. The descriptor is narrow, and it is the descriptor rather than the nomenclature that payers hold you to, so read the current CDT manual before reporting it.
Before the next recall column fills up
Pull the patients you moved onto D4910 in the last year and check two fields for each: whether the plan's cleaning frequency is shared with D1110, and whether the payer has the prior active therapy on file. Those two questions cause most maintenance denials, and both are answerable before the appointment.
Curo reads those details as part of a full verification, prices the visit from the category the plan puts it in, and flags a maintenance frequency that is already spent. If you work denials by hand, denial management turns the patterns above into a worklist.
One last note. Write the frequency, the shared count, the waiting period and the reference number into the patient's plan record the day you get them, with the date. Benefit years roll over and employer groups change plan design at renewal, so a verification from fourteen months ago is not evidence of anything. Claim handling and appeal timelines are set at the state level and change, so as of this writing, confirm current requirements with your state insurance department.