Since opening Implant Dentistry of Florida in 1981, Dr. Brown has prided himself, and his practice, on staying at the forefront of dental technology. Even the name Implant Dentistry pointed to this, as in 1981 not many people had yet heard of dental implants. Today they are commonplace and understood to be the superior option for replacing a missing tooth or teeth.
One of the technical innovations has been the addition of our CERC 3-D CAD/CAM system for creating single-visit crowns and other dental restorations. Dr. Brown was an early adopter of the CEREC system and is now a trainer for other dentists with CEREC.
In April’s first blog, let’s get into CEREC.
What Is CEREC?
CEREC is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. Now you can see why everyone just calls it by the acronym! CEREC is a complete start-to-finish system for designing and manufacturing ceramic dental restorations of the highest quality. The CEREC system also includes digital imaging that removes the need for taking goopy impressions.
How Does CEREC Work?
At Implant Dentistry of Florida, our three dentists all use CEREC. When you need a restoration such as a crown, the CEREC system allows us to design your prosthetic right next to you in our office. The system software is highly advanced and intuitive, employing computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) methods. Once we have your new crown designed, we share the design with you right there.
Next CEREC sends the approved design data to the milling station. The milling station then takes a small block of dental ceramic (porcelain) and creates the crown to the spec. This takes about 30 minutes, and you can watch the process if you want.
When it’s finished, we check the fit, make any adjustments necessary, and then we cement your beautiful new crown or other restoration onto the tooth. You’re all done in a single appointment. Without CEREC, other practices require at least two appointments and a two- to three-week delay for a dental lab to create your crown.
Our patients love CEREC. If you need a crown or other porcelain restoration, let’s put CEREC to use. Call us at Implant Dentistry of Florida, (321) 372-7700, to schedule an appointment.