Local Start Dental

Local Start Dental Local Start Dental is a brand new non-profit, state-of-the-art, on-site tooth replacement practice

She came to Local Start Dental scared of the dentist and unhappy with her smile. She came specifically because her son w...
06/24/2026

She came to Local Start Dental scared of the dentist and unhappy with her smile. She came specifically because her son was getting married, and she wanted to be able to smile in the photos.

Dr. Serag and our team completed a fixed-hybrid denture. She got the smile back, and her son got his mother fully present at his wedding.

Shortly after, she got engaged herself!

This is what restorative dentistry actually does. Not just teeth. Confidence. Presence. The willingness to say yes to your own life.

Patients come to Local Start at every level of dental anxiety, often after years of avoiding care. Some have been told their case is too complex. Some have been priced out of treatment elsewhere. Some haven't sat in a dental chair in over a decade.

None of that disqualifies anyone from care. If you or someone you know has been putting off treatment for any reason, we'd be glad to talk.

Local Start Dental does not operate in isolation.We work alongside a network of nonprofit, healthcare, and community org...
06/20/2026

Local Start Dental does not operate in isolation.

We work alongside a network of nonprofit, healthcare, and community organizations across North Carolina, each of which shares our commitment to making care accessible:

Care Clinic of Dare, Heart Association - North Carolina, CAARE Clinic, Rescue Mission, Futuro, on Wheels Durham, Community Health Center Inc, Centro Hispano Inc, Durham, Health Services, Health Group, County Health Department NC, Health, Adams School of Dentistry, Ministries of Durham, and Smiles.

These partnerships make it possible for us to reach patients who would otherwise fall through the cracks of the traditional healthcare system. They also reflect a truth we have come to believe deeply: the dental care crisis in this country is too large for any single organization to solve.

It will take a network. We are proud of the one we are part of.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/localstart-4years

Most dental nonprofits do one thing. Local Start Dental does two.Alongside our patient-facing clinic in Durham, we run t...
06/17/2026

Most dental nonprofits do one thing. Local Start Dental does two.

Alongside our patient-facing clinic in Durham, we run the Southeast Institute for Dental Education (SIDE), a continuing education program that trains practicing dentists in complex restorative and surgical procedures.

Here's how the model works: SIDE participants pay tuition that helps sustain our patient-facing mission. The patients they treat as part of their training receive complex care they could not otherwise afford. Two missions. One model. Every course advances both.

We launched SIDE in 2022 with our first cohort. Three years later, it has become one of the most distinctive aspects of what Local Start does, and a quiet force-multiplier on our broader impact. The dentists trained through SIDE return to their own practices across the country, carrying the skills they've learned into communities we will never serve directly.

In 2025 alone, six SIDE courses ran through our Durham clinic.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/localstart-4years

None of this happens without people.Our team at Local Start Dental has grown to sixteen: five administrators, three prov...
06/13/2026

None of this happens without people.

Our team at Local Start Dental has grown to sixteen: five administrators, three providers, five dental assistants, one laboratory technician, and two pre-dental interns.

Each of them shows up every day for patients who, in many cases, have been turned away or priced out of care elsewhere. They handle the procedures, the records, the scheduling, the lab work, and the thousand small things that make a clinic actually function.

Our pre-dental interns deserve a special mention. They represent the next generation of dental professionals, students who will carry this model of care into their own careers wherever they practice. The work doesn't end at our clinic doors. It travels with the people we train.

To the team: thank you. The $15.8 million in donated dentistry, the 78 counties served, the patients whose lives have changed — none of it happens without you.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/localstart-4years

"This is the most beautiful I've felt in 10 years."That's from a patient who came to Local Start Dental after years of a...
06/10/2026

"This is the most beautiful I've felt in 10 years."

That's from a patient who came to Local Start Dental after years of avoiding dental care. In her own words:

"It was hard to get prepared for the process since it's definitely life changing. But my experience at Local Start Dental was so much easier than I thought it would be. This is the most beautiful I've felt in 10 years. It's been a complete change. I feel like I really am beautiful. At the moment, I am working at a rehabilitation treatment center and feel more comfortable at my job. As well, my mouth doesn't hurt like it used to and I am now able to feel confident in my ability to care for my oral health. Overall, I've had an excellent experience, and I am excited to start my future with my new smile."

This is the work. Not the procedures themselves, but what the procedures unlock: confidence, employment stability, the simple human ability to feel comfortable in your own face.

Every patient we see has a story like this. Some of them never thought they would.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/localstart-4years

78 of North Carolina's 100 counties.That's how many counties our patients traveled from in the past year to reach our Du...
06/05/2026

78 of North Carolina's 100 counties.

That's how many counties our patients traveled from in the past year to reach our Durham clinic.

North Carolina has some of the highest rates of untreated dental disease in the country, and access drops sharply outside of urban centers. For patients in rural counties, the nearest comprehensive dental clinic may be hours away. Local Start Dental was built to close that gap.

A year ago, that number was lower. The year before that, lower still. Each year, more patients have found their way to us, many traveling hours across the state to receive care.

This is what statewide access looks like when one organization commits to it.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/localstart-4years

Four years ago, we opened a single clinic in downtown Durham with a focused mission: provide complex restorative dentist...
06/01/2026

Four years ago, we opened a single clinic in downtown Durham with a focused mission: provide complex restorative dentistry to patients who couldn't otherwise access it.

This year, we crossed $15.8 million in cumulative donated dentistry.
3,570 unique patients. Thousands of procedures. Hundreds of dentures fitted. Hundreds of implants placed. People who walked into our clinic after years of avoiding dental care and walked out with their first comprehensive exam in a decade, sometimes longer.

What started as a small Durham clinic has become an organization serving patients from 78 of North Carolina's 100 counties, while training the next generation of dentists from across the country.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing what four years of this work has actually looked like: the patients, the partners, the team, and the model that made it possible.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey so far.

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/localstart-4years

Dental pain doesn't wait, and neither do we.Severe decay, a stubborn infection, trauma, a deep fracture: when one of the...
05/30/2026

Dental pain doesn't wait, and neither do we.

Severe decay, a stubborn infection, trauma, a deep fracture: when one of these hits, emergency extraction can stop the pain fast. And with same-day care, you don't have to white-knuckle it until next week.

We're the lifeline when a tooth emergency threatens to sink your day.

Call us: 919.569.5533

Implants or dentures? It is one of the most common questions we hear, and the answer is rarely as simple as price alone....
05/25/2026

Implants or dentures? It is one of the most common questions we hear, and the answer is rarely as simple as price alone.

The real comparison goes deeper than the sticker cost. It includes how long each option lasts, what maintenance looks like over time, what happens to your jawbone without implants, and which solution actually fits your life and your budget long term.

We broke it all down in a full guide covering every tooth replacement option we offer at Local Start Dental, with real pricing for removable dentures to All-on-4, plus financing options, sliding scale fees, and NC Medicaid information.

Check it out. Link in bio under the Resources tab.

I smile the most when... 😊Drop your answer in the comments! We want to know what brings out your best, brightest smile -...
05/23/2026

I smile the most when... 😊

Drop your answer in the comments! We want to know what brings out your best, brightest smile -- a lazy Sunday morning? Your kid's laugh? Finally finishing that project? A really good meal?

Tell us below and let's fill the comments with good things.

Whatever your answer is, we're here to make sure that smile is always ready for the moment. 🦷

Address

370 Jackson Street
Durham, NC
27701

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+19195695533

Website

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