What are CEREC crowns?
CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramics. These unique dental crowns are created in our office through a process that begins with an assessment. Your dentist will take a digital impression (no mess!) that CEREC computer-assisted design software uses to design your crown.
The design generated by this software is transmitted to our in-house milling unit, which creates the crown from a block of tooth-colored ceramic material. CEREC crowns are customized to blend in with the rest of your smile.
While the crown is being created, your tooth will be prepped for its placement. When the CEREC crown is ready, it will be bonded to your tooth.
The entire process of preparing and placing a CEREC crown is completed within a few hours, eliminating the need to wear an uncomfortable temporary crown for a number of weeks.
Comparing the Treatment Processes of CEREC Crowns and Conventional Crowns
With conventional crowns, the patient must have a traditional dental impression taken and that impression is then sent to an off-site dental lab, which will create the crown and then send it back to the dental office for it to be placed.
That process takes a few weeks, and in the interim, the patient has to wear a temporary crown, which may not fit well and can be uncomfortable.
CEREC crowns compress this treatment timeline drastically and completely eliminate the need for temporary crowns. Additionally, the ceramic used in CEREC crowns is actually closer in appearance to biological tooth enamel than the materials used in standard dental crowns.
Schedule a consultation at our office to learn more about this treatment option.