If a patient has a tooth that is cracked, chipped, damaged, or fractured, a dental crown may be required. Furthermore, a crown may be needed for a recently inserted dental implant or tooth root that no longer has a nerve and has been cleaned out (i.e. a root canal). Previously, it was a lengthy and long procedure to create a patient's crown, but that was before it became possible to create a dental crown using the innovative Chair-side Economic Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics (CEREC) method.
The conventional method involves filling a putty-type substrate with dental trays and inserting these trays into the mouth of the patient. Then, the patient softly bites down on the substrate for several minutes. The impression of his or her teeth is produced as the substratum becomes firmer. An off-site laboratory uses this impression to create the patient a custom-designed dental crown. The traditional method of making a dental crown is a time-consuming and expensive one: patients must come to the office multiple times with a traditional crown. However, when the CEREC form is used, this is not usually the case.
The CEREC procedure is much quicker because, during the appointment of the patient, the dental crown is made in-house. In addition, during a single office visit, several CEREC procedures are performed, thus minimizing the total cost to the patient.
Besides a reduction in cost and fewer visits to the dentist, CEREC crowns offer patients a variety of other benefits.
Some of these benefits include:
