Accidental dental damage

Posted on: 25 April 2017

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) is a method that some dentists use to create crowns and other dental restorations for their patients. Unlike traditional dental restoration techniques, CEREC allows dentists to create crowns directly, rather than taking a mould of the patient's teeth and sending it to technicians who construct the crown in a dental laboratory. Here are five reasons to choose a dentist that uses CEREC technology next time you need a dental crown.

1. Single-Day Dental Crowns

When a dentist takes a mould of your teeth and sends it to a laboratory that makes dental crowns, it can take several days for your crowns to be ready to fit. CEREC dentistry drastically speeds up this process, reducing the time between the initial examination of your teeth and your crowns being ready to fit to as little as two hours. That means you can have your crowns fitted on the same day as your initial dental appointment.

2. No More Temporary Dental Crowns

To protect patients' teeth and reduce discomfort while waiting for traditional dental crowns to be ready, dentists often fit temporary crowns. These are made from materials that are not as resilient as permanent dental crown material, so you need to be careful when chewing. Temporary crowns can also be poorly fitting, which can cause discomfort. With CEREC dentistry, there is no need to wear a temporary crown, so you avoid discomfort and awkwardness while eating.

3. Better Fitting Crowns

CEREC is a high-tech method of making dental crowns. The dentist uses computer-aided design software to construct a virtual 3D model of your teeth, which they can then use to design a crown that perfectly fits the individual shape of your teeth. The computer sends this design to a machine that manufactures the crown to a very high degree of accuracy, ensuring a perfect fit.

4. More Accurate Colour Matching

Technicians working in a laboratory often aren't able to perfectly match the colour of your teeth to the colour of the crowns they create. Using CEREC technology, dentists can achieve very close colour matching, so your crowns will be less noticeable.

5. Long-Lasting Dental Crowns

You don't need to worry that choosing this rapid fitting option will result in poor durability. Studies show that CEREC dental crowns are just as durable as other types of dental restorations, usually lasting for many years without needing to be replaced or repaired.