One Visit CEREC Cosmetic Crowns
Tetrick Family Dentistry is your Bellingham CEREC dentist for single-visit tooth restorations. Why go to the dentist a second time if you don’t have to?
What is CEREC®?
Chairside Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramic, or CEREC, is a sophisticated new method for dental restorations. With the use of computer-assisted design, computer-aided manufacturing technology, and metal-free ceramic, CEREC crowns offer you safe and generally pain-free restorations that can be completed in as little as one visit.
The CEREC® Process
The CEREC process starts by using a digital camera to take a 3Dl image of the tooth that needs to be restored. Your dentist can use this image to custom design a crown that will serve as an ideal fit for your mouth. We can then select a ceramic of the correct color to match the aesthetic of your natural tooth structure. A milling device can then create your crown in a matter of minutes, and it is affixed to your tooth within the same sitting.
Exam and Preparation
Before you get started, your dentist will determine if CEREC® is right for you. Depending on how much healthy tooth structure you have remaining, it may be a simple filling or you may need a crown. After reviewing your options, the dentist will begin the process by administering anesthetic and preparing your tooth for restoration by removing decay and weakened tooth tissue.
Optical Impression
In order to make the desired restoration, a 3-dimensional image of the tooth that needs to be restored must be created from a digital camera scan of the tooth. This three-dimensional image will be used to create the restoration without the need to take a messy impression. This means no horrible tasting impression material for you to gag on. The computer and CEREC® 3D software then converts the digital image into a three-dimensional virtual model of the prepared tooth.
Milling Unit
This device is used to used to create the custom restoration needed for the tooth. Based on the original color of your tooth, the dentist is able to select the correct colored ceramic block and in a few minutes, the milling device is able to create the restoration needed.
Placing the Restoration
After the restoration is made, it is ready to be tried on to ensure that you get proper fit and bite. When it is ready, the restoration is polished and bonded into place by your dentist. Therefore, no temporary restoration is needed and no return trip is necessary, saving you time and money.
Advantages to Using CEREC®
CEREC® has revolutionized the restorative process. It was created with the patient in mind in order to make a visit to the dentist as pain-free as possible.
Compared to older dental crowns, the CEREC method offers many advantages:
- Most crowns can be built and installed in a single appointment.
- The CAD technology eliminates the need to take messy impressions of your tooth.
- More of your natural tooth structure is saved.
- Crowns last longer, often for more than ten years at a time.
- The metal-free resin of the crowns is safe and replicates all of the natural appearance of your smile.
Contact Tetrick Family Dentistry in Bellingham to find out of CEREC crowns are right for you.