CEREC Crowns: Pros and Cons

Traditional Crowns Procedure

Traditionally, a crown is made in a dental lab, which means that as a patient, getting a crown takes 2 visits. One visit is to anesthetize, prepare the tooth, take an impression, and make a temporary crown. This could take about an hour. About 2 weeks later, the patient would return for a second visit for the permanent crown delivery. Sometimes the patient might need to be anesthetized again before we can place the crown, and this appointment can take about 1/2 hour.

CEREC-Same day crowns

CEREC stands for Ceramic Reconstructions. CEREC crowns are made using CAD technology which takes a 3D image of the tooth and transfers it to a milling machine. The milling unit will fabricated your crown or inlay or implant crown in about 20 minutes.

The entire procedure will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Since the crowns are made in our office, there is no need to make a temporary, take impressions and getting anesthesia. There is no need for the second visit.

Pros

CEREC crowns are both natural looking and strong because we use a solid block of eMax or Zirconia material. Both materials have shown excellent biocompatibility in clinical studies.

CEREC crowns are convenient since it takes only 1 visit. Patients do not have to wear a temporary crown or be anesthetized again for the second visit.

Depending on the materials we use, we can see inside the crown since it is semi-translucent on radiographs. This advantage allows the dentist to detect caries on the tooth with the crown. Traditional crown appears radiopaque on radiographs. The dentist usually has to remove the crown if he or she feels that there might be decay under the crown.

CEREC crowns' marginal accuracy and longevity are comparable to lab processed crowns as shown in clinical studies.

Cons

Depending on the patient's dentition or tooth position, if we could not capture an acceptable 3D image, we could not fabricate a CEREC crown. We will have to use the traditional method of crown fabrication.

If you are interested in learning more about CEREC crowns, please give our office a call at 925-846-6308.