The traditional process for designing and placing a dental crown requires multiple appointments that are spread out across a few weeks or longer. Needless to say, many patients find the procedure to be time-consuming and bothersome. Fortunately, most people are candidates for a different type of restoration: a CEREC crown, which can be completed in a single dental appointment! In this blog post, we’ll discuss what a CEREC crown is, what the process involves, and how long a CEREC appointment typically lasts.
What Is a CEREC Crown?
CEREC is an acronym that stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. The process uses advanced technology that allows dentists to design a beautiful ceramic crown and then fabricate it immediately via an in-house milling unit.
Some noteworthy advantages of CEREC crowns include:
- They are every bit as durable and aesthetically pleasing as ceramic crowns that are made in a dental laboratory. In fact, CEREC crowns may fit even better than traditional crowns because the technology uses digital impressions rather than messy manual ones.
- CEREC crowns eliminate the need for patients to wear a temporary crown.
- In many cases, a CEREC crown costs less than a traditional one.
The CEREC Process
Here is a general overview of how the CEREC process works:
- Your dentist prepares your tooth to receive a crown. Usually, this requires that they remove a bit of enamel in order to ensure that the crown will fit well and not interfere with your natural bite.
- A scanner quickly creates an accurate, three-dimensional digital impression of your teeth.
- Your dentist uses advanced software to design your crown. Once the design is finalized, it gets sent to the ceramic milling machine, which precisely fabricates the crown out of a single block of dental-grade porcelain.
- Your dentist verifies that the crown’s color, size, and shape are a perfect complement for your smile before they permanently attach it to your tooth.
How Long Will Your Appointment Take?
The CEREC process is much faster than that of creating a traditional crown. However, it does still take a bit of time. Your dental team will work as efficiently as possible to make sure you get your crown quickly, but they will also require time to make sure that you will get to enjoy optimal results from your treatment. When you schedule your appointment, your dental team should be able to give you a rough estimate of how long your visit will take.
Do you suspect that you will soon need a dental crown? Choosing a practice that has invested in CEREC technology could save you time and spare you from making multiple trips to the dentist’s office!
About the Author
Dr. Erick Anderson has been practicing dentistry for over 25 years, and he has spent much of that time serving his hometown of Colorado Springs. He stays up to date with the latest advancements in dental technology and is proud to offer one-visit CEREC restorations to his patients. To learn more about Dr. Anderson and the services he offers, contact our team at 719-593-0988.