Anesthesia service for a procedure performed inside the mouth when no more specific intraoral anesthesia code fits the case.
- Medicare
- $0.00
- Work RVU
- 0
- Global, days
- Region
- Other
Documentation requirements
What must appear in the operative or office note to support the claim.
Source · Editorial brief grounded in 3 cited references ↓
- Anesthesia start and stop times in clock time
- Type of anesthesia given (general, MAC)
- Surgical procedure performed and why a more specific code does not apply
- ASA physical status classification
- Who personally performed or medically directed the case, and how many concurrent cases
- Pre-anesthesia evaluation and post-anesthesia note
Applicable modifiers
Modifiers commonly billed with this code.
Source · AMA CPT modifier descriptors · CMS NCCI Policy Manual
What this code covers
Source · Editorial summary grounded in 3 cited references ↓
00170 is the general anesthesia code for intraoral work: dental extractions done under general, oral surgery, and repairs inside the mouth that do not have their own anesthesia code. It is billed by the anesthesiologist or CRNA, not the surgeon, using base units plus time.
An orthopedic practice rarely touches this code. It shows up when a group owns an ASC or employs anesthesia staff and the same billing team handles every case on the schedule. If you work an ortho-owned ASC claim queue, you will see it on oral surgery block days, not on ortho cases.
What trips people up: 00170 is a catch-all. If the procedure has a more specific anesthesia code (for example, cleft palate repair), use that instead. Anesthesia time starts when the provider begins preparing the patient and ends when the patient is safely handed off, so start and stop times must be in the record. Medicare also requires the right personnel modifier (AA, QK, QX, QY, QZ) and payers expect a physical status modifier.
RVU & reimbursement
Component RVUs and Medicare national rate. Actual payment varies by GPCI locality.
Source · CMS Physician Fee Schedule, RVU26A · January 2026
| Work RVU | 0 |
| Practice expense RVU | 0 |
| Malpractice RVU | 0 |
| Total RVU | 0 |
| Medicare national rate | $0.00 |
| Global period | days |
Payment by site of service
Medicare pays different rates by setting. HOPD typically pays substantially more than ASC for the same procedure.
Source · CMS OPPS Addendum B·ASC HCPCS payment rates·2026
| Setting | Medicare rate (national) |
|---|---|
Office (PFS non-facility) Procedure performed in physician's office | $0.00 |
Common denial reasons
The recurring reasons claims for CPT 00170 get rejected.
Source · Editorial brief grounded in CMS NCCI edits, AAOS coding appeals, and cited references ↓
- Missing or wrong personnel modifier (AA, QK, QX, QY, QZ)
- Anesthesia time missing or not documented in minutes
- Dental anesthesia billed to Medicare when the underlying dental service is excluded
- A more specific anesthesia code exists for the procedure
- Medical direction billed for more than four concurrent cases
Frequently asked questions
Source · Generated from the editorial pipeline, verified against 3 cited references ↓
01Who bills CPT 00170?
02How is 00170 paid?
03Does Medicare cover anesthesia billed with 00170 for dental work?
04Can an orthopedic ASC bill 00170?
Sources & references
Editorial content was developed using the following public sources.
Mira Scribe
Mira Scribe records the case details the anesthesia biller needs, including the procedure performed, start and stop times, and who was in the room, so the claim matches the chart.
See how Mira captures CPT 00170 documentation