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N682 Remark Code: Periodontal Therapy History Missing

N682 means the history of prior periodontal therapy or maintenance was missing, incomplete, or invalid. Plans commonly require proof that active periodontal treatment was done before they pay for periodontal maintenance or further gum treatment.

Quick facts

Code
N682 (RARC N682)
Status
Active In use since November 1, 2013.
Code set
Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)
Group codes
  • CO (Contractual Obligation): The provider must supply the treatment history. The claim is not the patient's responsibility while it is pending documentation.
  • PR (Patient Responsibility): If the plan ultimately decides the maintenance benefit doesn't apply, it may pay under a different benefit or assign part to the patient, depending on the plan.
Official description
Missing/Incomplete/Invalid history of prior periodontal therapy/maintenance.
X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes, retrieved September 25, 2026
Last verified
against the official X12 list.

What N682 means

Periodontal care generally happens in two phases. First comes active therapy, such as scaling and root planing or periodontal surgery, to treat the disease. Afterward, patients move to periodontal maintenance, recurring visits that keep the disease under control. Many dental plans won’t pay for maintenance, or for repeat active therapy, without knowing what came before.

N682 means the plan couldn’t find or accept that history. It needed dates and types of earlier periodontal treatment and got none, got partial information, or got something that didn’t fit, such as a date after the service being billed.

Common causes

  • The claim for maintenance didn’t mention when active therapy was completed.
  • Active therapy was done by a previous dentist or periodontist, and the records weren’t requested.
  • The history listed routine cleanings rather than periodontal therapy.
  • The dates were incomplete or inconsistent with the plan’s own records.
  • The patient changed plans, so the new plan has no record of treatment paid by the old one.

How to fix it

  1. Document the history: the type of active periodontal therapy, the quadrants treated, the dates, and who provided it.
  2. Request outside records if another office did the earlier treatment.
  3. Include current charting if the plan also wants evidence of ongoing periodontal disease.
  4. Resubmit the claim or send the information through the plan’s attachment process, referencing the original claim.
  5. Discuss alternatives with the plan if the patient never had active therapy, rather than resubmitting the same service.

How to prevent it

Record periodontal treatment history, including outside treatment, in a consistent place in the chart. Add the most recent active therapy date to the narrative on every maintenance claim, so the plan has it up front.

Codes that may appear with N682

  • CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information or has submission/billing error(s).): The claim lacks information needed for adjudication.
  • CO-252 (An attachment/other documentation is required to adjudicate this claim/service.): Documentation of the treatment history is required.
  • N483Deactivated / N484Deactivated (Missing or incomplete/invalid periodontal charts.): Current charting problems, rather than a lack of treatment history.
  • N683 (Missing/Incomplete/Invalid prior treatment documentation.): Prior treatment documentation in general is missing or invalid.
  • N681 (Missing/Incomplete/Invalid full arch series.): The full arch image series is missing or invalid.

N682 FAQ

Why does periodontal maintenance need a history?

Maintenance is intended for patients who completed active periodontal therapy. Plans ask for the date and type of that therapy to confirm the patient qualifies.

What if the active therapy was done at another office?

Get the records or at least the treatment dates from that office, and include them with the claim. Some plans can also see the history if they paid for the earlier treatment.

What if there is no history of active therapy?

Then the maintenance benefit may not apply. Talk to the plan about how the visit should be reported based on the treatment actually provided.