When the dentist tells us that we need a crown that’s enough to make you cringe a little. First it means that you need to get a root canal which is both pricey and painful. Then you need several trips to the dentist to have impressions made, getting a temporary crown until the lab finishes making yours. This means a lot of visits to your dentist and a lot of money out of your wallet. But before you despair we may have a better solution to your dental problems.
What is a CEREC Crown
This technology was initially developed back in the early 1980’s but it wasn’t until 1985 that the treatment was widely used. CEREC or Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics is the method of creating a crown using computer technology. It uses computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing technology to create a crown immediately rather than using a lab. This allows your dentist to put together a crown for you in an afternoon rather than over the course of multiple visits.
How Does it Work?
After you have had your root canal the dentist then uses makes a digital impression using a CAD (computer aided design) computer. They use special software and equipment that was created for the CEREC procedure. They can also create the crown on the same day and put it over the tooth during the same visit. There are a lot of benefits to this type of treatment. For you, you can have your complete procedure all done in the same day, no more waiting on labs or multiple visits to make sure that the crown fits properly.
Not only is this convenient the materials that are used in CEREC crowns look and feel more like real teeth as opposed to what comes from laboratory crowns. The fit is also better from a digital impression than it is than those of porcelain crowns. This also works for the dentist as well, he can create crowns right in his own office rather than trying to outsource services to a lab nearby.
Disadvantages of CEREC crowns
While there are plenty of reasons for women to get a CEREC crown, they aren’t ideal in every situation. CEREC crowns look and work best on molars or back teeth, for front teeth you are still better off with a traditional laboratory made crown.
Is a CEREC made crown right for you? That is something you will have to discuss with your dentist and bear in mind that not every dentist does the CEREC procedure. If you want to save time and money then you might want to seek a dentist familiar with CEREC crowns.