CEREC is an unbelieveable technology in dentistry that allows us to make crowns, veneers, inlays, onlays and even fixed bridgework in as little as one visit with:

• NO goopy impressions!
• NO ugly, uncomfortable temporary restorations!
• Unmatched fit and finish
• Custom designed esthetics for YOUR mouth!

Traditional crown and bridge dental restorations involved two or more visits with your dentist. First to prepare the tooth (or teeth), generally below the gum line to hide the dark metallic base of your "porcelain" crown, make impressions, fabricate temporary restorations and then wait. And wait. And hope that in three weeks when your permanent crown comes back from the laboratory that it fits well and the color and shape match well. If not, back to the laboratory it goes, usually with a new impresson and three more weeks of waiting. If it did fit, we will often re-anesthetize the area so that the cementation process doesn't hurt and cement your new crown in place.

 

CEREC technology changes all that.

 

Now, you visit your dentist who prepares the tooth (or teeth) much as before. Only now as we're not trying to hide an ugly metal base we can be much more conservative in our preparation of the tooth. We're talking about 100% ceramic restorations here, no metal to hide. We coat the teeth with a fine, white, reflective powder (it's acutally the same stuff that makes the little white "M" on an M&M candy!) and take our digital impressions with a 3D camera. That whole process generally takes less than a minute. The doctor will then design your restoration on the computer, which takes 3-5 minutes. And the restoration is sent to a 3D CAD/CAM milling unit in the office. You can watch your crown being cut from a solid block of ceramic. This process takes less than 10 minutes. Your new restoration is fitted, polished, and sometimes custom stained depending on the needs of each individual patient. Your new restoration is then bonded in place while you're still anesthetized.

 

Ta Dah! You now get to go home and use your CEREC restoration immediately.