Giving hope

Local dentist studies with dental surgery expert in Hungary

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ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Giving hope to long term denture wearers and others who had been told they can’t have implants was the main goal of Dr. Jason Northcutt of Robertsdale, when he went to Budapest, Hungary, to learn the latest bone grafting techniques from Dr. Istvn Urban, the world's foremost expert in this form of dental surgery. 

"I went to Budapest back in February, then again, with a special travel permit due to COVID-19, in October, and lastly a few weeks ago during the first part of December," Northcutt said. "Each session included three days of lectures, and then we got to observe Dr. Urban perform his techniques as he narrated live surgeries on his patients. The class finally got to try the techniques on pig's jaws."

Several of the instruments used in these operations were designed by Urban and produced by Hu Friedy, who manufactures dental instruments.

"At the end of the final session," Northcutt said, "I was awarded a certificate of completion. This experience has given me the knowledge and confidence to perform these procedures back in the United States."

The whole idea was to perform these bone grafts in his office so that dental implants could be predictable and successful long term for his patients.

"I have been surgically placing dental implants since 2002.  The main problem I’ve seen is the recession of bone around the top of the implant.  We place an implant into solid bone and a few years later, it may start losing bone around the top and exposing it to bacteria in the mouth, which speeds up the bone loss, ultimately causing the implant to fail."

Where the bone grafting can help, he said, is to create a wide enough and tall enough area in the jaw to receive the implant using a mix of the patient’s own bone and bovine bone, which has been documented to be one of the most stable, long term techniques for success.

“We have known how to grow horizonal bone for years,” Northcutt said. “Dr. Urban has figured out how to predictably grow horizontal and vertical bone.”

The cost of this type of grafting can range from $1,500 upwards of $10,000 depending on the extent of the bone loss and which areas in the mouth are affected.

“It’s definitely not for everyone,” Northcutt said. “I tell my patients that implants aren’t cheap and they aren’t fast as healing times can be as long as nine months.

"I already have a number of patients on a waiting list to have this done. They are mostly female, and have been wearing dentures for all of their adult life. The cost of implants was out of reach for them until now.  Something in their financial situation changed. For example, they inherited some money from their parents or re-married, or whatever, but now are ready to invest in their mouth. But by now, the bone loss in their jaws is so advanced that they don’t have enough bone to get dental implants.”  

As humans age, areas of the jawbone without teeth to provide stimulation have a tendency to shrink. This process is called resorption.

"For long-term denture wearers as the jaw shrinks the dentures don't," he said. "That means they are constantly getting loose, and makes eating almost impossible. Even when not eating they can move around and click together creating sounds which can be nerve-wracking."

Northcutt did his training at the University of Alabama - Birmingham's School of Dentistry.

"Back in 1997, I came to Baldwin County and spent a year in my brother's Fairhope office," he said. "In 1998 I moved to Robertsdale and began renting the old Baldwin Supply building from Nelson Wingo."

After renovating both the exterior and interior of the old building Northcutt was ready to begin his dental practice.

"I've been here ever since," he said.

Northcutt's son is a sophomore at Auburn University studying chemical engineering.

"My daughter, who graduated from high school early, isn't quite sure what she wants to study," he said. "She'll be taking some classes at Coastal Alabama Community College, and then figure out what her next step will be.

Northcutt said that patients with bridges and dentures weren't the only ones who could benefit from this procedure.

"People with missing teeth, those who have suffered trauma to their jaws and mouths such as auto accidents or getting kicked by a horse, bone loss caused by previous failed implants, or other dental procedures, all of these situations can benefit," he said.

It is Northcutt's hope that this new surgical style can offer hope to people who have these problems.

"That would make attaining this certification well worth the time and money I spent getting it," he said.

If you would like to learn more about this and other procedures, you can contact Northcutt’s office at Robertsdale Dental Care, 251-313-0523.