What exactly are CEREC same-day crowns?

What is a crown, and how can it help restore your smile? These familiar porcelain or ceramic covers are often the go-to option to protect damaged or decayed teeth. Traditional crowns require preparation before your final crown placement weeks later. Same-day crowns let you walk out with a fully restored smile after just one appointment.

1. Avoid the discomfort of physical impressions.

One of the worst parts of getting a traditional dental crown has always been physical impressions. This process has been used in many different types of restorative dentistry treatments to ensure a perfect fit for prosthodontics and an appearance that matches your natural teeth.

Your dentist would fill trays with a special type of putty and then press them against your upper and lower teeth. You’d have to sit there for several minutes until they set properly, and the dentist would then remove the trays. The exact shape of your teeth would be imprinted in the putty. However, this process is very uncomfortable for most patients.

With same-day crowns, physical impressions are a thing of the past. Instead, the latest intraoral scanner technology is used to create digital impressions. This high-resolution 3D imaging provides an accurate and complete model of your teeth, perfect for treatment planning and making custom dental crowns.

2. There’s no need for temporary crowns.

Before taking impressions, the affected tooth must first be prepared. This involves removing some enamel to create a uniform base to which a dental crown can attach effectively. However, this must take place before your crown is made to ensure that it is a perfect fit for the prepared tooth.

With traditional dental crowns and physical impressions, that means waiting for several weeks with a temporary crown. The temporary crown protects the prepared tooth from damage, but it is not customized for your smile. It can be very conspicuous, which is something most patients would rather avoid.

Same-day crowns are created right in the dentist’s office, without the need to ship physical impressions to a lab and wait for the final prosthodontic. This means that you won’t have to wear a temporary crown while you wait because there’s no waiting involved.

3. The whole process takes just one appointment.

The process of creating traditional dental crowns used to require multiple appointments before your treatment was complete. If there are other procedures involved in your overall treatment, such as a root canal, you could find yourself with even more appointments and a longer wait time.

Same-day crowns require just one appointment. Your dentist can prepare the tooth, take digital impressions, make the crown, and place it, all in one visit. This is made possible by the latest dental technology—intraoral scanners and a chairside milling machine that makes the crown itself.

4. CEREC same-day crowns are durable and strong.

You might think that choosing a same-day crown means compromising on some other front, but that isn’t the case. CEREC same-day crowns show excellent performance in terms of durability, strength, and longevity.

These crowns are made of strong ceramic material, similar in many ways to the porcelain used in traditional crowns. In fact, the ceramic used in CEREC crowns is even more resistant to cracks and chips than porcelain.

This increased resistance helps CEREC crowns last longer. They also stand up to routine wear very well. You can count on same-day crowns to deliver reliable performance for years to come.

5. You can achieve a beautiful smile with CEREC crowns.

Every CEREC same-day crown is custom-made based on high-resolution 3D imaging. This lets your dentist provide a crown that fits your natural smile in terms of shape and proportion. The shade is also customized to provide an excellent match to your existing teeth.

Your dentist uses specialty CAD software that works with 3D imaging and the crown milling machine to achieve the highest level of accuracy and precision. You receive stunning results that were unheard of outside of dental labs before this new technology emerged.

While some still say that porcelain crowns are the gold standard for aesthetics, CEREC crowns are natural looking and inconspicuous. You don’t have to compromise on the quality of your smile in exchange for the convenience that comes with same-day crowns.

Find out whether CEREC same-day crowns are right for you.

If you have a damaged or decayed tooth or an upcoming root canal treatment, you likely need a dental crown to protect the affected tooth. You can visit your trusted dental practice in Middletown, Ohio, to take advantage of CEREC same-day crowns and make the process that much easier. Book your appointment with Dr. Steven A. Lang, DDS, today.