A50.5 vs K00.2
A50.5 and K00.2 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on K00.2
abnormalities of teeth due to congenital syphilis (A50.5)
A50.5
Other late congenital syphilis, symptomatic
Not billable
- Chapter 1
- Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
- Section
- A50-A64
Use when the record says
- Any congenital syphilitic condition specified as late or manifest two years or more after birth.
K00.2
Abnormalities of size and form of teeth
Billable
- Chapter 11
- Diseases of the digestive system
- Section
- K00-K14
Use when the record says
- Concrescence of teeth
- Fusion of teeth
- Gemination of teeth
- Dens evaginatus
- Dens in dente
- Dens invaginatus
- Enamel pearls
- Macrodontia
Indexed under
- Concrescence (teeth)
- Dens evaginatus, in dente or invaginatus
- Dichotomy, teeth
- Enamel pearls
- Enameloma
These two codes sit in different chapters of the Tabular List, which is usually the clearest signal that they describe different underlying processes rather than different degrees of the same one.
Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027