CEREC Crowns – Most restorative and cosmetic dental procedures require a patient to make two or more trips to the dentist’s office. On the first visit the teeth are prepared for the procedures and the dentist takes a custom impression of the patient’s teeth from which veneers, crowns, or dentures are to be created. The patient generally wears a temporary fitting between appointments while a laboratory somewhere gives finishing touches to the final product. The restorative or cosmetic procedure is completed during the second visit when the final restoration is placed for patient.
While this does not sound problematic, it can often require a patient to live for weeks with an ill-fitting “standard” temporary which affects everything from eating to speaking. It also involves traveling back and forth to the dentist’s office which can easily translate to a great deal of time in travel and even missed work. Additionally, the skill of the laboratory technician can have an effect upon the final results, which might include poorly fitting crowns that allow for debris to enter between teeth or between the crown and the gum.
Luckily, CEREC technology makes the manufacturing of all-ceramic dental restorations possible in a single visit. CEREC is a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing machine that creates custom dental restorations easily. In the past, dentists have had a limited number of materials from which they could craft restorative items. Usually they were made from gold, silver and composite materials that could withstand the wear and tear of daily use. The CEREC uses highly durable ceramic materials that deliver the look of all natural teeth to craft inlays, onlays, crowns and veneers. This means a patient can come in for treatment and have no need to return in order to complete their single tooth restoration.
CEREC technology is used to record the anatomical features of the tooth and surrounding areas, so Dr. Donnie Dean can complete the custom design by using images of their patient’s teeth and gums in conjunction with the software. The machinery then makes the custom restoration which is an exact replica of that designed in the software by the dentist. This means that a patient getting a crown will not have to wear the temporary for a week or more before returning for their permanent crown. They will not suffer the discomfort and possible bacterial buildup, but instead they will wait a few minutes comfortably in their dentist’s office as their crown is made. One Visit – Your time matters call us today at 865-539-1119