Dr. Reza Khazaie on October 12, 2021Dental Crowns While You Wait
Conventional tooth restoration therapies, such as traditional inlays, onlays, fillings, and dental crowns, are often very involved and time-consuming.
The traditional dental crown procedure, for example, may entail two or more appointments separated by weeks of waiting for the prosthesis to be manufactured at a dental lab before final preparations are ready for fitting.
While patients wait, they must make do with temporary prosthetics. Likewise, some filling procedures, like gold fillings, indirect fillings, and fillings following a root canal, may require patients to schedule additional appointments.
Not anymore!
With today’s latest dental technology, additional appointments, temporary prosthetics, and fillings, as well as the time spent waiting for final dental restorations to be manufactured, are a thing of the past.
A state-of-the-art system designed and developed by Sirona provides dentists with a computer-aided CAD program with manufacturing capabilities (CAM). This system is called CEREC short for Chairside Economic Restorations of Esthetic Ceramics. CEREC makes receiving a dental restoration in-house with your dentist in a single appointment possible.
What is CEREC?
CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic (CEREC). Translated into plain English, CEREC is a method utilizing computer-aided design (CAM) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology for dental restorations. Essentially, a patient's oral and dental condition is measured digitally. This data is computed and sent to a machine that can fabricate many dental prosthetics on demand. With input from the dentist or a CAD technician, the machine can be ordered to produce a brand new, custom prosthetic in as little as 30 minutes.
CEREC technology can be applied to a variety of dental restoration treatments such as inlays, onlays, fillings, and crowns.
Benefits of CEREC Technology
The primary benefit of utilizing CEREC technology for a dental restoration procedure is the impressive reduction in time between receiving a restorative dental procedure and receiving the final, permanent prosthetics replacement. Restorative procedures that once required patients to make multiple appointments and often wait weeks for a final, working dental prosthetic to be produced are over. With CEREC technology, Willow Pass Dental Care patients can receive their final permanent restoration in just one sitting. Likewise, for fillings, digital measurements can be taken of a tooth, including the shape and size of the filling necessary, which can then be fabricated chairside.
The CEREC Technology Process
First, an intraoral camera takes a digital impression of the patient’s oral condition.
Second, a computer builds a virtual model using this digital data.
Third, a fabrication unit uses the virtual model to fabricate the prosthetic.
The fabrication process starts with a block of material, either porcelain ceramic or composite resin, and whittles it down as a sculptor would until a perfect, custom tooth prosthetic is all that remains.
Finally, with the prosthetic hot out of the fabrication machine, Dr. Reza Khazaie or one of the dentists at Willow Pass Dental Care can immediately place it into a patient’s mouth thus foregoing a traditional second or third appointment. Our team carries out all the steps of the dental restoration procedure, including the design and creation of the dental prosthetic itself - a process that is known as a chairside treatment.
5 Benefits of CEREC for Your Dental Crowns & Tooth Replacements
1. No need for gooey dental impressions
Dental impressions made with a traditional dental tray filled with an alginate material are uncomfortable for patients. Worse, manually taking analog impressions isn’t the most accurate technique.
Inaccuracies at this early stage can lead to inaccurately measured and fabricated dental prosthetics, adding significant pain down the road. However, with CEREC, impressions are taken digitally with an intraoral camera. These digital impressions are then digitally processed into a computer which can translate the data into a virtual model. Virtual, digital impressions have made analog impressions obsolete.
2. No temporary dental crowns
Temporary crowns and prosthetics are no longer necessary because patients can receive permanent dental crowns or restorations in single appointments. Wearing a less appealing, ill-fitting temporary crown for weeks while waiting for the final, permanent crown to be made and shipped to our office are over.
3. Exact precision in creating beautiful teeth
When it comes to your teeth, there should be no room for error. Willow Pass Dental Care patients can rest easy knowing that the design, manufacturing, and fitting process is calculated down to the last decimal place, thanks to computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology.
4. No more metal or amalgam
CEREC dental restorations and prosthetics utilize ceramic or resin composite materials instead of metal. This means restorations created with CEREC technology will look and feel more natural than restoration fabricated with metal.
CEREC fillings, for example, are all-white and look very natural. In comparison, traditional amalgam fillings look artificial. Worse, metal amalgams can leak and discolor teeth. Dental crowns and other restorations built on metal can look artificial if the metal is not carefully and painstakingly concealed.
5. No more wait time
The best benefit of opting for a CEREC procedure is that you won’t have to wait days, or even weeks, for a permanent dental restoration. Instead, patients often receive their permanent restorative prosthetic on the same day and in just one single appointment. That’s right, a brand new permanent tooth on the same visit is no longer a dream - it’s a reality!
At Willow Pass Dental Care we embrace computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology. Not only do cutting-edge technologies and dental restoration techniques streamline the restorative process, but they also produce better results which means happy, satisfied customers.Â
Ultimately, when it comes to tooth replacement treatments and therapies, the number one difference maker is the talent and skill. The best dentists get the best results. At Willow Pass Dental Care, our patients can rest easy knowing that we have the best qualifications, talent, training, and experience to produce the most beautiful results in cosmetic dentistry. Contact Willow Pass Dental Care today for a consultation about the cosmetic procedures ideal for your personal needs and desires.
