Getting a crown is a fairly common occurrence in a dentist’s office, but there are differences between CEREC® crowns and traditional crowns. It is not surprising for someone to need at least one crown during their lifetime, and learning about the available options for this dental treatment can make you better informed when the time comes to receive one.
A crown is a dental material that acts like a cap over a tooth. It is normally used to cover teeth that have been damaged in a variety of different ways. For example, a tooth may decay naturally over time, get cracked or broken in an accident or get shaved down to an insufficient size after a large filling. CEREC® crowns produce the same result as traditional crowns, but they go through a different process. One of the main differences is in how much time is needed to create the crown. Here are the top questions concerning these crowns and the timeline involved in making them.
What separates these crowns from more traditional ones is that they can be made in a dentist’s office as soon as they are needed by a patient. An in-house milling machine can create an accurate crown over the course of several minutes. The dentist then has to only polish it and match it to a patient’s tooth color before placing it over the damaged tooth.
Some dentists do not have an in-house milling machine to produce a crown instantly, so an impression of the patient’s teeth must be sent to a lab outside the office. It can take up to a few days or a couple of weeks to receive the final crown from the lab. Then the dentist can proceed to place the permanent crown. A temporary crown must be used by the patient between the appointment when the impression is taken and the appointment when the permanent crown is put in.
CEREC® crowns usually require only one appointment. The impression is taken digitally by the dentist and scanned onto a computer that sends the details of the new crown to the milling machine. The machine carves the crown out of a chunk of ceramic and the dentist makes it ready for the patient. Then the dentist places it over the decayed tooth. The process is so quick and efficient, the patient only needs to attend one appointment. Traditional crowns usually require at least two appointments.
This is entirely dependent on each patient. It is possible that the time efficiency of the crowns can save a patient money in the long run because they only require the single appointment. However, underlying health complications could make the bill less clear-cut.
CEREC® crowns can provide benefits patients may not be aware of when considering a crown. By understanding what they can do for individual cases, patients have more chances of fixing problem teeth down the road.
Are you considering CEREC® crowns in the Somerville area? Get more information at https://somervilledentist.com.
Check out what others are saying about our dental services on Yelp: CEREC Crowns in Somerville, MA.
CEREC® machines allow dentists to design and fabricate custom dental restorations as their patients wait in a dental chair. This treatment option enables dentists to fit the finished product in a single visit. In today’s world, the convenience of combining dental procedures is a huge selling point for same-day restorations.Imagine the time savings if you…
CEREC® (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) restorations are convenient and accurate procedures. Each CEREC treatment has a traditional equivalent, which takes longer to complete. This new way of getting dental restorations can be an advantage to many patients. If you want to know the reasons when to advise a CEREC restoration, here are the…
Technological advancements in dentistry are bringing CEREC® crowns into the lives of many dental patients. These crowns are ideal for immediate dental repairs and restorations. They remove the hassles you get in getting traditional dental crowns. If you want to find out the advantages of getting custom-fit CEREC dental crowns, here are the details.CEREC milling…
CEREC® relies on CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing). This type of technological combination allows dental practices to provide high-quality dental crowns. Each patient can go home happy with the new custom-fit crowns they have. If you want to learn about the benefits of CEREC CAD/CAM, here are the details.Traditional dental crowns take two…
