When teeth become chipped, cracked or damaged as a result of decay or injury, dentists are able to restore it using highly customized dental crowns. However, this process can be less than ideal when a dental emergency is present and a crown is needed as soon as possible. With the help of a CEREC crown in Hillsboro, teeth can be restored more quickly than ever. If you’ve always wondered how long the process actually takes, you’ll want to keep reading.
What are CEREC Crowns?
CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics and its main function is to create highly personalized crowns without having to outsource the process to a third-party dental lab. It uses a combination of digital software and milling hardware to design and fabricate a crown in an incredibly short period of time. Not only does this make it ideal for addressing dental emergencies, but it makes the entire process far more convenient for patients.
The process is relatively straightforward. First, a dentist captures a digital impression of a patient’s modified tooth using a handheld intraoral camera, then sends that data to the machine. That means there’s no need to bite into gray impression material just to have a crown made! The machine then uses computer-aided design (or CAD for short) to manufacture a single block of ceramic into a personalized crown. The restoration is then placed the same-day, which is why they are often referred as “same-day crowns.”
How Long Does a CEREC Crown Take to Make?
On average, a CEREC crown only takes about one to two hours depending on the complexity of the restoration. This includes not just capture of the crown, but the milling process in the machine, which is typically an hour-long step. Many dentists will even let you watch the process if you’d like as the machine has a window to view the crown as it’s being made.
How Does It Compare to Traditional Crowns?
The difference in time needed to create a traditional crown vs. a CEREC crown is quite dramatic. Since traditional crowns require the aid of a third-party dental lab that also services many other dental practices in the area, receiving a permanent crown can take as many as two weeks. As a result, patients need to wear temporary crowns to protect their damaged tooth until the permanent one is created.
By skipping the middleman, you can avoid temporary restorations, gray impression material, and the long wait associated with receiving a dental crown. This makes the process not only faster, but more comfortable overall!
Are you in need of a dental crown? Have to get one as soon as possible? Choose a CEREC dentist in Hillsboro today to see the process for yourself!
About Wolfe Dental
The dentists at Wolfe Dental are highly trained in the creation and placement of personalized dental restorations. Dr. Wolfe in particular has completed courses at Spear Education specifically focused on cosmetic dentistry and CEREC same-day crowns. To learn more about dental crowns or schedule an appointment to receive a crown today, you can contact their office through their website.