Oral and maxillofacial surgery covers the surgical side of dental implant treatment: tooth extractions, bone grafting, sinus lifts, and the actual placement of implant posts into the jaw. It's a separate skill set from restorative dentistry, which handles the crowns, bridges, or dentures that attach to those implants afterward. In Greer, 9 practices in this category handle these procedures, ranging from oral surgeons who work strictly on referral to general dentists who've trained specifically in surgical implant placement.
When you're comparing providers, a few things matter more than a nice waiting room. Ask who actually places the implant versus who does the restoration, since some offices split the work between a surgeon and a general dentist. Find out what imaging they use (3D cone-beam CT scans give a much clearer picture of bone density and nerve position than a flat x-ray). Check whether they handle bone grafting and sinus lifts in-house or refer that out, and ask directly about their complication and failure rates, even if the answer is just "we haven't had many." Sedation options and how they manage pain and swelling afterward are also worth asking about upfront.
Our scoring weighs credentials, experience with surgical implant cases, technology on hand, and patient feedback specific to surgical outcomes, not just general friendliness. For a ranked breakdown of all providers, see the best dental implants providers in Greer guide, and check our methodology for how we score and weight each factor.
