Traditionally, patients who visit us for a new or replacement crown have to come back for a second, sometimes a third, visit. The initial visit would involve the existing tooth or crown being assessed for damage and the proper treatment develop. Following this, the order would be made to the prosthetic laboratory to create a new crown. During the second visit the crown would be placed. If there were any further revisions needed for the crown another would be ordered and the patient would return for a third visit.
At most dental practices this continues to be the way things work. Patient is the correct word for someone being treated as they have to be very patient throughout the process.
Dr. Stefanie Shore pays close attention to developments in medical and dental technologies. Every year, countless new technologies are released to the medical industry promoting something new. Many are only slightly modified versions of previous models and some, literally, only have a new exterior design while performing the same exact function. Much of it can be about marketing and money making. This is why Dr. Shore has waited till this last year to adopt a revised and perfected dental technology called CEREC. It has reached a point of advancement worthy of adoption.
Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, or CEREC, is a technology involving hardware and software that can take images of existing teeth or a dental prosthetic as a computerized model image, then use a chamber with robotic arms and tools with special material to create a new and complete dental prosthetic. The model is perfected before creation by the dentist or a trained dental professional. For the subject of this article, the final product is a new crown that fits into the patient.
This technology is important for a few reasons:
- Digital modeling using a specialized 3D camera is being used to take measurements of the existing tooth or crown. From there software with human assistance perfects the model. This creates a highly accurate model of the patient’s tooth or crown eliminating margins of error that resulted from previous methods. This means that the new crown created will fit perfectly.
- The machine used for this process is located at our dental office. There is no sending an order to a laboratory and having to wait for processing, creation, and shipping. No relying on an outside service. We are responsible for the process and it’s completed during a single 2-hour visit.
- Reduction in patient and staff time spent for this treatment is the result. Rather than 2-3 office visits that could take 4-6 hours, this process can be completed in around 2 hours. Your time is saved, our time is saved.
If you desire a certain type of material for your crown, such as gold or silver, then this technology cannot create your crown. This equipment is different than the CEREC, which uses high-quality, durable, tooth-identical ceramic resin. These types of crowns still require sending away to a lab with 2-3 visits.
As time goes on we will continue to make efforts to adopt sound and proven technologies for our Practice. Ones that make sense for our patients.
If you have trouble with your existing crowns or are considering a new crown, contact us. During your visit you can watch the CEREC in action creating your perfect crown.