Minneapolis, MN Dentist Offers Dental Implants In One Visit

Monday, March 23, 2009— ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — The traditional method of placing a dental implant is a lengthy process that takes up to six months to complete.

Minneapolis Dentist Dr. Walter L. Hunt has found a way to complete the entire process in one appointment that lasts about 45 minutes, through the use of immediate load implants.

To adequately understand and appreciate this accomplishment, it’s important to know how traditional implants work.

In the past when a patient lost a tooth or had to have it extracted and opted to have a dental implant and a crown put in its place, Hunt would send the patient to an oral surgeon to have a dental implant permanently placed into the jaw bone. This implant serves as an anchor.

Dental implants are made of titanium and they integrate themselves into the jawbone through a process called “osseointegration,” according to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

The osseointegration process can take up to six months to complete. Once that happens, a follow-up procedure is required to expose the top of the implant so a post can be attached to it. This post serves as the support for the crown, which ultimately replaces the missing tooth.

Although Hunt values the work of oral surgeons, he said that through the years, he found that there sometimes was a disconnect between his aesthetic goals for his patients and the work provided by some oral surgeons.

The oral surgeon’s goal is to place the implant, but “they don’t have the big picture in mind, and they don’t always place the implant in an ideal location or at an ideal angle,” Hunt said. “This creates a situation where I can’t create the best aesthetics as I could if I had done the procedure myself.”

With the goal in mind of creating optimum results for patients, Hunt became an associate fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. To do that, he spent more than 600 hours of study during weekends over the course of 10 months while attending the New York University Dental School to learn to surgically place dental implants in his office.

“I wanted to make sure I had some credentials and experience before I started doing that,” he said, adding that he completed the training in May 2008.

Once he had this knowledge and experience under his belt, Hunt began performing the procedure in-house.

The key difference between immediate load and traditional implants is the shape of the implant, Hunt said. A traditional implant looks like a screw. The angles and thread design of immediate load implants enable them to withstand pressure immediately without having to wait for the bone to heal around it.

“Now we can do the surgery (to install the implant) and put the tooth on it all at once in a lot of cases,” he said. “The patient doesn’t have to endure six months of having a space in their mouth.”

Immediate load implants still integrate, as the bone heals around them and makes them stronger, Hunt said.

Offering the procedure in-house is a big change for Hunt, who had placed crowns over implants for 30 years before learning the surgical procedure of placing dental implants.

“Now patients don’t have to leave the practice to see an oral surgeon because everything is done in the office,” he said. “They are a lot happier and the cases have been successful.”

Learn More
If you would like to learn more about immediate load implants or the Minneapolis, MN dental work offered at Personal Care Dentistry, please call (651) 636-0655 or visit www.personalcaredentistry.com. Dr. Hunt’s office is located at 2233 N. Hamline Ave., Ste. 320 in Roseville, MN, 55113.

About Dr. Walter Hunt
Dr. Walter Hunt has provided dental services to more than 9,000 patients in the Roseville community since 1977.

Dr. Hunt is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He keeps his finger on the pulse of dental technology by exceeding the state’s required number of dental continuing education courses. He passes this training on to his patients by treating problems with advanced techniques and by performing procedures using only the most modern and high-tech equipment available.

An active member of professional dental community, he founded the Minnesota Alliance of Concerned Dentists and is a member of numerous dental organizations including the Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, Minnesota Dental Association, St. Paul District Dental Society, American Academy of Implant Dentistry, the Dental Organization of Conscious Sedation, and the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology.

Comfort and satisfaction are priorities for Personal Care Dentistry. The practice’s experienced staff will provide caring support and individualized treatments that make the dental experience comfortable and anxiety-free.

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