CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) technology has revolutionized the way dentists place dental crowns. Traditionally, if crowns, onlays, inlays or dental veneers were required to restore damaged teeth, multiple appointments and a great deal of waiting time would be required. CEREC® creates these ceramic restorations within minutes in the dental office. This means that many treatments can be completed in a single visit. There’s no longer the need to create temporaries or take impressions of your teeth and send them to a lab, the traditional second appointment has been eliminated.
The first step is to prepare the tooth. Dr. Coello will remove all tooth decay and creates a divergent occlusal axial wall. Next, an impression is made using a 3D scanner. Images are formulated with the CEREC® camera. CEREC® optical 3-D imaging utilizes an infrared wavelength to create a digital blueprint of your restoration, a digital file is created.
The image is then transposed onto the computer screen. It is here that the dentist is able to view the tooth from every angle and design the final restoration. When the design is complete, it is transmitted to the milling unit. Then the CEREC CAD-CAM (Computer-assisted design Computer assisted manufacture) takes this information and mills your permanent restoration in-office, while you wait. CEREC crowns are milled from pure ceramic to ensure a natural looking, strong dental restoration. The dentist chooses a block of ceramic that matches the color of your teeth. This ensures that the restoration will be almost invisible. The restorations will be metal-free, resulting in a highly aesthetic restoration. These new ceramic crowns are stronger than porcelain to metal crowns.
Before affixing the restoration to the tooth, the dentist will place it dry to ensure it fits perfectly. It is then polished and affixed to the tooth with dental cement. The procedure is now complete and all without the need for a second visit! The quality of the results is better than laboratory-generated restoration, and a great deal of time and money has been saved.