New Hanover County · Since 1987
Bone Grafting in Wrightsville Beach, NC
Bone grafting rebuilds the jawbone where it has shrunk, so an implant has something solid to anchor to. It is often the reason an answer of "not enough bone" changes to yes.
- Three doctors, one location
- Sedation available
- Most major plans accepted
- Written estimates before treatment
bone grafting, explained
Once a tooth is lost, the bone that held it starts to resorb. After a few years there may not be enough width or height left for an implant. A graft adds material that the body gradually replaces with its own bone.
Full detail on bone grafting ›
Why Wrightsville Beach patients come to us for this
Wrightsville Beach has the highest household incomes in the region and a resident base that treats a good smile as part of the package.
Scheduling matters as much as clinical detail for these patients, so we plan surgical appointments around travel and work rather than the other way round.
Harbour Island and the Banks Channel side send us most of our Wrightsville Beach patients, and the drawbridge is the only real variable in the trip.
Summer traffic on Eastwood Road is worth planning around; a morning appointment is a different journey from a four o'clock one in July.
The island's year-round population is small, so almost everyone here already drives into Wilmington for medical appointments.
We see patients from across Wrightsville Beach and the surrounding area, including Johnnie Mercer's Pier, the Loop, Banks Channel and the 28480 ZIP code.
New Hanover County is the built-out core of the region, growing around one percent a year, with roughly 21 percent of residents over 65 and the highest concentration of employer dental coverage in southeastern North Carolina.
Larger cases are scheduled around your calendar rather than ours, and we will consolidate appointments where the clinical sequence allows it.
Twenty minutes over the drawbridge puts you in a chair with a doctor who does this work every week, not a cosmetic clinic that sees veneers twice a year.
You may be a candidate if
- A tooth being extracted where an implant is planned later
- Having been told you do not have enough bone for an implant
- A tooth lost years ago with a visibly sunken gum line
- A long-term denture wearer considering implants
- Bone loss from past gum disease around a planned implant site
Your treatment, start to finish
- 3D imagingA cone beam scan measures bone width and height at the site.
- Graft placementGraft material is placed and covered, often at the same visit as an extraction.
- HealingTypically three to six months while the graft becomes bone.
- ImplantThe implant is placed into the rebuilt site, sometimes at the same appointment as the graft.
Afterwards
Expect some swelling for a few days. Avoid chewing on the site, do not smoke, and do not press on it with your tongue or a denture unless we have adjusted it. Small granules of graft material in your mouth in the first week are normal.
Follow-up visits are short and we will schedule them at the start or end of the day if that works better around your week.
What it costs
Graft fees depend on the size of the site and the material used. A socket graft at extraction is a modest addition that often saves a far larger graft later. It appears as its own line on your implant estimate, and some plans contribute to it.
We can sequence larger cases across two benefit years where the clinical situation allows it, which puts two annual maximums against the same plan of treatment.
In their own words
Hear from Dr. Barry Frazelle
Dr. Frazelle on why the injection is nothing to dread, and a cheap whitening habit he gives patients.
Questions we get asked
I was told years ago I do not have enough bone. Is that still true?
Possibly not. Grafting and angled implant techniques have changed what is possible. A new scan will tell us.
Where does the graft material come from?
Most dental grafts use processed donor or bovine bone that acts as a scaffold for your own bone to grow into. We explain the options at the consultation.
How far is your office from Wrightsville Beach?
About 10 miles, or roughly 20 minutes via Eastwood Road (US-74) over the Heide Trask Drawbridge. We are at 1301 Physicians Dr in Wilmington, with parking at the door.
Do you see patients from Wrightsville Beach?
Regularly. Wrightsville Beach is part of our core service area in New Hanover County, and twenty minutes over the drawbridge puts you in a chair with a doctor who does this work every week, not a cosmetic clinic that sees veneers twice a year.
What are your hours?
Monday through Thursday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday, 8:00am to 12:00pm. Outside those hours, leave a message or use the appointment request form and we will come back to you with the first available time.
Bone Grafting · Wrightsville Beach, NC
Surgery and restoration by the same team.
The doctor placing the implant is the one planning the crown, so position is driven by where the tooth needs to end up.
- 3D cone beam planning on every case
- Single implants through full arch All-on-4
- Sedation available for surgical appointments
- Written estimate before you commit
Been told you do not have enough bone? That answer is often out of date. Bring the scan.
Request an appointment
We reply the next business day.
Please do not include Protected Health Information. For anything urgent, call (910) 762-0958.
