Dentists have been using dental crowns to restore teeth for many years and for good reason.

But first…

What is a dental crown?

A dental crown is a cap that is placed over a tooth to restore its shape, size, and strength. Traditionally, dental crowns were made in a lab by a dental technician. This process could take several days, sometimes weeks, and often results in multiple visits to the dentist’s office.

Depending on your case, your dentist will likely recommend a crown to you if your teeth are:

• Chipped
• Broken
• Heavily filled
• Discoloured
• Widely spaced apart
• Or after root canal treatment has been performed

Recently, however, dentists have begun using Cerec machines to create dental crowns right in their own offices. This new technology allows for same-day dental crowns!

Cerec is short for Chairside Economical Restoration of Aesthetic Ceramics and is one of the most recent and advanced technologies currently available in digital dentistry.

The Cerec machine uses a milling machine, CAD/CAM technology (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) and 3D imaging software.

The process is quite simple, efficient and involves four distinct phases:

Your Initial Scan – This is where your dentist will scan your teeth using the CEREC scanner, providing an accurate 3D digital impression of your mouth or a specific tooth.

Crown Concept – After the scan has been done using the 3D image, a model will be done using the CEREC machine software. The digital crown will be designed with amazing accuracy to match your natural tooth in size, shape and colour.

Milling – Now for the fun part, the dentist will send the design to the in-house milling machine, the chosen blank is placed into the machine and your crown will be cut out, leaving you with a crown perfected suited for your mouth.

Final Touches – Lastly, the dentist will polish, stain and glaze your new crown to make it look natural and place it into a furnace. This step is why crowns are so strong as the heat increases the hardness and strength of the crown.

Dental crowns are a great way to restore your smile and with the new technology of Cerec machines, you can now get a dental crown in just one visit to the dentist.

The benefits of same-day crowns are eliminating the need for temporary crowns, you can restore your smile quicker without the need for multiple appointments or waiting weeks for your next appointment and the strength and reliability of the technology used that traditional impressions cannot provide.

Same-day dentistry is possible with Cerec and means you will have a dental crown that is specifically designed for your tooth in just one visit.

If you are in need of a dental crown, take advantage of our FREE Smile Makeover Consultation at Dakabin Dental, to see how we can completely transform your smile! Click here for more information