For years, patients who needed dental crowns had to wait two or more weeks to receive a custom dental crown. After preparing the damaged tooth, dentists sent plans, images, and scans to a ceramics lab where dental restorations were milled and sent back to the practice. While the customized tooth was being crafted, patients wore a temporary crown that was prone to breaking and coming dislodged. At Premier Family Dental, our Waco dentist and team offer an alternative: CEREC same day dental crowns.
Who Needs Dental Crowns?
Our Waco dental practice emphasizes preventive dentistry. That means we encourage patients to keep regular dental visits, care for their teeth and gums at home, and seek treatment as soon as they notice pain, sensitivity, or discomfort. The preventive dentistry philosophy encourages patients to choose the most conservative treatment option that fully restores form and function to teeth. In that vein, our dental practitioners recommend patients repair dental damage and decay using composite resin fillings, inlays, and onlays if possible. Patients need dental crowns when:
- Damage or decay is too extensive to be safely and effectively repaired with less extensive restorations.
- Root canal therapy is completed, a crown is placed over the affected tooth to provide added strength and protection.
- Replacing 1 to 3 consecutive missing teeth, some patients choose crown and bridge tooth replacement which relies on healthy surrounding teeth to anchor a dental prosthetic. Placed as a single unit, crown and bridge restorations consist of two abutment crowns with replacement teeth between them. The prosthetic is permanently attached to the smile by cementing the crowns in place.
- Single tooth implants are placed, a dental crown is permanently attached to replace the visible portion of the tooth.
What is CEREC?
CEREC or Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, is a computer assisted design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) system used by dentists to make ceramic dental restorations in their practice. Using digital images, scans, and impressions, the unit mills a custom crown from a block of porcelain. The milling process typically takes twenty minutes to an hour after which patients receive their custom restoration. The entire process is typically completed in less than 2 hours during a single appointment. While this may seem like a significant amount of time spend in the office, a great deal of time is saved over the course of treatment by completing the procedure in one day.
Find out more from Your Waco Dentist
If you’re in need of dental crown restoration, contact Premier Family Dental to schedule a CEREC consultation today. These single visit dental crowns allow patients to fully restore their smile in just one day, and CEREC is great for patients who have a damaged or dislodged a crown since their restorations can be repaired right away.