What You Should Know About the CEREC Crown Procedure

A CEREC® crown procedure is an easy and convenient way to get teeth restorations. Decades ago, stepping out of the dental clinic with crowns on the same day was a fantasy. Now, it is a reality. Many patients enjoy having dental crowns by the time they come home from the dentist. If you want to know more about a CEREC dental crown procedure, here are the details.

The facts

One of the most attractive features of a CEREC crown procedure is the absence of temporary crowns. Traditional crowns take weeks to finish. Patients have no choice but to wear temporary crowns to protect the tooth or implant. This often causes discomfort and embarrassment. In a CEREC procedure, patients leave the clinic with the permanent crown.

Another good fact about CEREC is that patients can get a permanent crown after one dental appointment. The computer-aided design and manufacturing features create the crowns while the patient waits for about 90 minutes. This is more convenient and time-saving than waiting for two weeks for traditional permanent crowns. CEREC technology improves a patient’s dental health right away.

This one-day crown technology produces accurate crowns. It uses 3D impressions in creating permanent dental crowns. The resulting restorations are custom-fit and comfortable. This prevents food particles and bacteria from entering the crown. CEREC dental crowns also have a significant natural effect. The crowns are the same color as the patient’s natural teeth.

The procedure

The dentist starts the CEREC crown procedure by preparing the teeth. An injection of local anesthetic prevents the patient from feeling pain. The dentist will remove the decayed areas of the tooth. Shaping the tooth to fit the crown follows. For CEREC crowns, the dentist does not need to remove much of the healthy tooth.

Having a patient bite down on a putty-like mold can cause gagging. The putty does not taste good, and it tends to leave pieces in the patient’s mouth. In a CEREC crown procedure, the dentist places a small intraoral camera into the patient’s mouth. The camera takes several shots of the teeth and gums. Then, the software puts them together and converts the final image to a 3D impression.

The dentist uses the 3D impression to create the permanent crown. Matching its color to the color of the patient’s natural teeth comes next. The dentist will program the CEREC machine and feed it with a solid ceramic block for each tooth. The milling process for each tooth takes about 15 minutes. This is a fast and accurate process.

The dentist then starts fitting the crowns onto the patient’s prepared teeth. Once the fit is okay, the dentist cements the crowns over the teeth. This is a short procedure. The patient can leave as soon as the crowns are stable.