Dental crowns are invaluable for covering and strengthening weakened or damaged teeth and restoring smiles. The traditional version also requires multiple office visits for prepping the damaged tooth and then molding, fitting, and placing the permanent crown.
Led by Thomas Marxen, DDS, the team at Advanced Care Dentistry in Woodinville, WA, has expertise using the CEREC® system, which provides the same reliable dental crowns as the traditional method in a fraction of the time. Just one day and you’re on your way with a natural-appearing smile.
Created from material that can withstand daily wear and tear, dental crowns are permanently bonded as caps over your natural teeth. Each is carefully shaped and designed to match your natural smile and create a cosmetically appealing alternative for severely decayed, discolored, or damaged teeth.
Traditional dental crowns typically require two office visits and several weeks to complete. The crown site is prepped during the first visit, and a mold or impression is created as a template for the future crown. The impression is then sent to an off-site lab, which prepares the crown according to the template, and ships it back to our office. So, before you leave your first visit, you are fitted with a temporary crown to protect your tooth until the permanent replacement is ready. Once your new crown arrives, you need a second office visit to place the permanent crown, which may require some custom shaping before it’s permanently cemented in place.
Short for chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramic, the CEREC® method uses innovative digital technology that allows us to create and place a strong, permanent dental crown with just one office visit. CEREC also eliminates the need for a temporary crown.
Many patients prefer the CEREC method for dental crowns because it provides all the benefits of a traditional crown without the wait time or need for multiple office visits.
It generally takes 2-3 hours to complete a CEREC same-day procedure, but you’ll need just one trip to the dentist rather than two. You also avoid the limitations associated with a temporary crown when you choose CEREC.
Once the targeted tooth is prepped, which may include treatments such as a root canal, your Advanced Care Dentistry dentist captures images of the problem tooth with an intraoral camera. The CEREC computer system uses these images to create a highly accurate digital template that provides a 3D map for the final crown.
Your crown is created with computerized precision, via the template, a preselected block of porcelain, and a dental milling machine. Next, it is custom tinted, glazed, and shaped to match your natural teeth. When finished, your crown is bonded to the targeted tooth, and you’re on your way.
For more information about CEREC, and for all your dental needs, call us today, or use the convenient Book Online button to schedule a visit.
