Palmetto Periodontics
124, Alpine Circle, Columbia, South Carolina
Closing soon · 4 PM
Documented for periodontics in Columbia, with dentures on the service list and 5 procedures on file.
Read full descriptionHide
Alpine Circle runs off the northeast side of Columbia, roughly ten miles out from downtown and within easy reach of the Two Notch corridor and the neighborhoods around it. Palmetto Periodontics works there as a specialty referral practice: gums, bone, and the implants that depend on both. Dr. James P. Wilson is board certified in periodontics and implant surgery, grew up in Columbia, took his dental degree at the Medical University of South Carolina, and served as chief of periodontics for the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Fort Campbell before coming home.
Laser gum therapy is the treatment this office is most equipped for. In the LANAP protocol, a fine fiber carrying a specific wavelength is passed between the gum and the tooth root; the light is absorbed by diseased, pigmented tissue and by bacteria, while healthy collagen is left largely alone. The root surface is then cleaned of hardened deposits, and a second pass of the laser warms the blood in the pocket into a stable clot that seals the space so the tissue can reattach. Because no gum is cut away with a blade and nothing is stitched, recovery tends to be gentler than traditional flap surgery. It treats periodontitis; it does not replace daily cleaning, and it cannot rebuild a tooth whose supporting bone is already gone.
The same laser thinking extends to implants through LAPIP, used when tissue around an existing implant becomes inflamed and the bone underneath starts to recede. On the surgical side the practice handles gum grafting, crown lengthening, guided bone regeneration, ridge preservation after an extraction, and sinus lifts to build height in the upper back jaw before implants can be placed. Both IV and oral sedation are offered for people whose anxiety would otherwise keep them out of the chair.
Insurance is worth checking early. The practice is in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, GEHA, Companion Life and the VA, which matters in a city with a large veteran population, though surgical benefits vary widely between plans. Hours run Monday through Thursday, with a shorter Friday that closes at one, so late-week appointments need planning around.