While 3-D may be the latest, greatest thing in the realm of television and movie entertainment, a local dental surgeon is finding a more practical use for the technology.

When Dr. James Wu moved his Advanced Surgical Associates practice to 1201 Main St. in 2009, he also invested in the 3-D Imaging Cone Beam Scanner for the purposes of dental implant treatments.

“Dental implants are basically tooth roots that can be placed into the jaw area when a patient has a missing tooth,” said Wu, who shares his practice with Dr. Daniel Jeong. “When the new implant root has healed to the jawbone, then teeth can be connected on top.

"In order to place a dental implant and have it be successful long-term, you need to have good bone structure around the implant root just like a natural tooth.”