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Digital Ceramic Crowns - CEREC
CEREC is an acronym, which stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. It is a system that consists of a chairside computer and a milling unit. This revolutionary piece of technology enables our dentists to make porcelain crowns, inlays and onlays quickly and bond them into a tooth in a single appointment. We take a photograph (digital impression) of the prepared tooth using an infrared camera. This digital impression is sent to a computer where it appears as a three dimensional model. We design the crowns on this digital model, and send the information to the milling unit when we are satisfied with what we have created. The milling unit takes ten to twenty minutes to make the restoration, which is then bonded into the tooth, all on the same day. Aside from convenience, there are several advantages to having these procedures done in a single visit. Single visit restorations eliminate the need for additional appointments and injections, and your tooth doesn’t need to have a temporary restoration for two weeks. Temporary restorations can fall out and leak, which can lead to subsequent complications. Dental procedures are traumatic to teeth, and eliminating a second appointment reduces the amount of stress put on a tooth.
How long does it take?
A single tooth CEREC usually takes about 120 minutes. A good portion of that time is spent designing and milling the restoration. If multiple restorations are being made, then more time is required. We first numb the tooth and prepare the tooth accordingly. After the restoration comes out of the mill, it is adjusted, bonded into the tooth, and polished. A CEREC inlay, onlay or crown is a very durable and long lasting restoration, which will provide you with many years of trouble free service.
CEREC® is most commonly used in the replacement of old, large amalgam or composite resin fillings that have failed, fractured or decayed.
A CEREC® restoration has many advantages over conventional fillings, including:
- 1. superior aesthetics – porcelain is far more natural looking than composite resin
- 2. superior strength – guaranteeing greater longevity
- 3. single-visit ceramic restoration – eliminating the need for multiple appointments, multiple local anaesthetic treatments and temporary interim fillings
- 4. Conservation of healthy tooth structure – large CEREC® restorations are an ideal alternative to potentially short-lived composite-resin fillings or full-coverage crowns, which usually result in removal of greater amounts of natural healthy tooth structure
All decayed tooth structure, as well as any old filling material, is removed conventionally or by dental laser. |
A 3D image of the tooth is taken with the aid of a CEREC® handheld blue-light camera. |
Using the 3D image, our specially trained and experienced CEREC® dentists design the restoration in front of you on the CEREC® monitor. |
The CEREC® milling machine “carves” the porcelain restoration out of a colour-matched ceramic block. |
The milled restoration is bonded directly to your tooth, creating a durable, aesthetic restoration in less than one hour. |
