Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in Columbia, SC

Oral and maxillofacial surgery covers the surgical side of implant dentistry: tooth extractions, bone grafting, sinus lifts, and the placement of implant posts into the jaw. This is the specialty most general dentists refer patients to when a case involves surgery on bone or soft tissue rather than restorative work like crowns or dentures. In Columbia, SC, we've identified 12 practices in this category, ranging from single-surgeon offices to larger groups working alongside dental implant restoration teams.

When comparing surgeons, look past the marketing photos and check a few concrete things: whether the surgeon is board-certified in oral and maxillofacial surgery, what type of anesthesia they're licensed to administer on site (IV sedation requires separate certification in South Carolina), how they handle complex cases like severe bone loss or full-arch implants, and whether they use 3D cone-beam imaging to plan placement instead of guesswork from flat x-rays. Ask about complication rates and what happens if a graft or implant fails, since a good practice will have a clear protocol rather than a vague answer.

Our scoring for this category weighs credentials, patient outcomes, technology used for imaging and planning, and how practices communicate costs and risks upfront. Full detail on how we weigh these factors is on our methodology page.