Novato CEREC Dentist Explains Advantages of Convenient One-Day Dental Crowns

Written by Dr. McConnell on Apr 29, 2014

When you think of having a dental crown placed, do you envision a long, time-consuming process? This is still the case for traditional crowns, but at our Novato Cerecs Dentist office, we can complete the process in one day, using durable CEREC crowns.

CEREC Crowns are a great new innovation used in dentistry to eliminate the inconvenience usually associated with traditional crowns. The advantage of CEREC Crowns compared to traditional dental crowns is that your permanent crown is fabricated right here in our office while you wait, eliminating the need for a second appointment.

Placing traditional crowns usually involved two or more lengthy appointments to complete the process. During the first appointment the tooth was reshaped to accommodate the crown and then an impression (or mold) was taken of the tooth.

This impression was then used to create a temporary crown, and this mold would be sent off to a dental lab where the final, permanent crown would be made. A second appointment date would be set to have the permanent crown checked for proper fit and cemented in place.

At our Novato Cerecs Dentist office, the first step of the procedure still involves reshaping the tooth to accommodate the new crown. However, after this initial step, the process is quite different from that of traditional crown placement.

An image will be taken of your tooth with an infrared camera, and this image is then input to a computer program so that your dentist can actually view a model of your tooth to aid in constructing your CEREC Crown.

A milling machine is used to fabricate your permanent crown from a single block of porcelain. The crown is cleaned and polished, refined to fit perfectly, and secured in your mouth. Usually this entire process takes about two to three hours to complete

Placement of a CEREC Crown is an efficient process with very little stress for the patient. However, you may be one of the many people who experience some anxiety about dental visits. If this is the case, we will be happy to arrange a consultation beforehand to decide if sedation is an appropriate option for you.