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K02.51 ICD-10-CM Code: Dental caries on pit and fissure surface limited to enamel

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
7 inclusion terms

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v44, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 011 — TRACHEOSTOMY FOR FACE, MOUTH AND NECK DIAGNOSES OR LARYNGECTOMY WITH MCC (MDC PRE)
  • MS-DRG 012 — TRACHEOSTOMY FOR FACE, MOUTH AND NECK DIAGNOSES OR LARYNGECTOMY WITH CC (MDC PRE)
  • MS-DRG 013 — TRACHEOSTOMY FOR FACE, MOUTH AND NECK DIAGNOSES OR LARYNGECTOMY WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC PRE)
  • MS-DRG 157 — DENTAL AND ORAL DISEASES WITH MCC (MDC 03)
  • MS-DRG 158 — DENTAL AND ORAL DISEASES WITH CC (MDC 03)
  • MS-DRG 159 — DENTAL AND ORAL DISEASES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 03)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for K02.51 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Notes without a marker are published on K02.51 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Includes

Conditions the official ICD-10-CM tabular list includes under this code.

  • caries of dentine
  • dental cavities
  • early childhood caries
  • pre-eruptive caries
  • recurrent caries (dentino enamel junction) (enamel) (to the pulp)
  • tooth decay

Source: inherited from K02

Inclusion Terms

Alternative terms the tabular list files under this code.

  • White spot lesions [initial caries] on pit and fissure surface of tooth

Code Overview

Dental caries on pit and fissure surface limited to enamel is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (K02.51).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Indexed Clinical Terms (12)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Official Coding Guidelines

No excerpt in the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines names this code specifically. Its chapter carries only this chapter-wide note:

Chapter 11: Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95)

Reserved for future guideline expansion

Verify Before Coding

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name K02.51 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes2 note: K03 — Other diseases of hard tissues of teeth (via K02.-).

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 6 MS-DRGs: DRG 011 (MDC PRE), DRG 012 (MDC PRE), DRG 013 (MDC PRE), DRG 157 (MDC 03), DRG 158 (MDC 03), DRG 159 (MDC 03).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):DIG002 — Disorders of teeth and gingiva (default); DEN001 — Any dental condition including traumatic injury; DEN002 — Nontraumatic dental conditions; DEN003 — Caries, periodontitis, and other preventable dental conditions.

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical categories (Disorders of teeth and gingiva, Any dental condition including traumatic injury, Nontraumatic dental conditions, Caries, periodontitis, and other preventable dental conditions).

K00.3 — Mottled teeth, K00.4 — Disturbances in tooth formation, K00.5 — Hereditary disturbances in tooth structure, not elsewhere classified, K00.6 — Disturbances in tooth eruption, K00.7 — Teething syndrome, K00.8 — Other disorders of tooth development, K00.9 — Disorder of tooth development, unspecified, K01.0 — Embedded teeth, K01.1 — Impacted teeth, K02.3 — Arrested dental caries, K02.52 — Dental caries on pit and fissure surface penetrating into dentin, K02.53 — Dental caries on pit and fissure surface penetrating into pulp, K02.61 — Dental caries on smooth surface limited to enamel, K02.62 — Dental caries on smooth surface penetrating into dentin, K02.63 — Dental caries on smooth surface penetrating into pulp, K02.7 — Dental root caries, K02.9 — Dental caries, unspecified, K03.0 — Excessive attrition of teeth, K03.1 — Abrasion of teeth, K03.2 — Erosion of teeth, +613 more

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main terms “Lesion”, “White”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

I37.9 — Nonrheumatic pulmonary valve disorder, unspecified (pulmonary, valve), I51.9 — Heart disease, unspecified (cardiac), I67.4 — Hypertensive encephalopathy (brain, vascular, hypertensive), I67.9 — Cerebrovascular disease, unspecified (brain, vascular), I99.9 — Unspecified disorder of circulatory system (vascular), J32.0 — Chronic maxillary sinusitis (maxillary sinus), J34.89 — Other specified disorders of nose and nasal sinuses (nose), J35.9 — Chronic disease of tonsils and adenoids, unspecified (tonsillar fossa), J39.2 — Other diseases of pharynx (pharynx), J98.4 — Other disorders of lung (pulmonary), K05.5 — Other periodontal diseases (combined periodontic - endodontic), K06.2 — Gingival and edentulous alveolar ridge lesions associated with trauma (gingiva, associated with trauma), K08.9 — Disorder of teeth and supporting structures, unspecified (tooth, teeth), K11.8 — Other diseases of salivary glands (salivary gland, benign lymphoepithelial), K11.9 — Disease of salivary gland, unspecified (salivary gland), K13.0 — Diseases of lips (lip), K13.29 — Other disturbances of oral epithelium, including tongue (patches of mouth), K13.70 — Unspecified lesions of oral mucosa (oral mucosa), K13.79 — Other lesions of oral mucosa (mouth), K27.9 — Peptic ulcer, site unspecified, unspecified as acute or chronic, without hemorrhage or perforation (peptic), +86 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of K02.51 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run K02.51 with this related code in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • Pre-MDC[MDC crossing]: “Pre-MDC — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 175 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027
  • MDC 03 — Diseases and Disorders of the Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 5,151 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027

Index entries (12)

  • Caries, dental (dentino enamel junction) (early childhood) (of dentine) (pre-eruptive) (recurrent) (to the pulp), chewing surface, limited to enamel[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Caries, dental (dentino enamel junction) (early childhood) (of dentine) (pre-eruptive) (recurrent) (to the pulp), coronal surface, chewing surface, limited to enamel[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Caries, dental (dentino enamel junction) (early childhood) (of dentine) (pre-eruptive) (recurrent) (to the pulp), coronal surface, pit and fissure surface, limited to enamel[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Caries, dental (dentino enamel junction) (early childhood) (of dentine) (pre-eruptive) (recurrent) (to the pulp), pit and fissure surface, limited to enamel[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Caries, initial (tooth), chewing surface[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Caries, initial (tooth), pit and fissure surface[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Lesion (s) (nontraumatic), tooth, teeth, white spot, chewing surface[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Lesion (s) (nontraumatic), tooth, teeth, white spot, pit and fissure surface[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • and 4 more

Nearest codes (11)

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Coding guidelines Official source data
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2027), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v44 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "K02.51 — Dental caries on pit and fissure surface limited to enamel." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/k02.51-dental-caries-on-pit-and-fissure-surface-limited-to-enamel

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Dental caries on pit and fissure surface limited to enamel

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to K02.51 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the K02 family