Dr. Ryan is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. While in dental school, he became the first student to fabricate and place an anterior CEREC restoration. He also was one of five students in his class to place dental implants.
Dr. Ryan Slaten’s interest in dentistry began at a young age. He worked in our dental lab and enjoyed integrating his artistic aptitude along with the technical aspects of dentistry.
While working toward his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, he attended postgraduate courses on various topics, including tissue grafting, osseointegration, dental implants, neuromuscular dysfunction, CEREC restorations, Lumineers, and dental aesthetics.
Dr. Ryan is a member of local and state dental societies, along with the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, and the Academy of CAD/CAM Dentistry.
His hobbies include backpacking and repelling, kayaking, hockey, skiing, and Greenpeace.
"I chose the profession of dentistry because it's such a rewarding experience. There's really nothing quite like it, actually. There are so many different passions of mine that I get to incorporate: art, computers, technology, innovation, the basic sciences, and, of course, the many areas of dentistry and people. There's no other way that I can think of that I'd rather be serving the community I grew up in and that really raised me.
I think the most rewarding part about being a dentist is that I get to be there for people in their time of need, whether it's to see them through pain and suffering and help them heal, or whether it's to restore function in a comfortable environment and allow them to get back to health. It's great to get smiles and hugs, and to see people around town, to know that I did something meaningful, that I made a meaningful contribution to their life.
I went away to Ohio State. I studied chemistry and material science. I decided that I wanted to go into dentistry, dental school there, too. That's what I did. I spent nine years down there. Then I got further education out at Spear, which is a continuing education facility in Scottsdale.
Right when I got out of dental school, I spent a lot of time traveling. I got the benefit of being able to travel the country and learn from some of the best dentists in the world in various areas that I was interested in. That was a huge benefit, post graduation, to be able to be exposed to the many areas of dentistry that dental school really doesn't expose you to.
It was at that time that I found technologies and my love and passion for technologies in dentistry. Things like lasers, CAD/CAM. Computers were becoming a big part of dentistry at that time. I really found ways to find a new love for that.
But at the heart of it all, I think my chemistry background really helped me to understand so many things in dentistry that are necessary to really do a great job and to really provide the best service to patients.
I think patients can benefit from my vast background in these various aspects of dentistry that I focused on because I can bring so many different parts of dentistry together and see dentistry as a more global profession. I don't need to focus in on one problem singularly. I can see it from many different perspectives because of my background. It helps me to provide unique, innovative solutions that might not be available to them otherwise or that might not be thought about if I hadn't been exposed to these types of things."
