It’s easy to take modern technology for granted. You’re on a plane 35,000 feet up in the stratosphere and you hear someone complaining to the flight attendant that their internet wi-fi connection is hiccupping. You’re on a golf course and your phone pings a satellite to tell you the exact distance to the flag on the green. But darn if it doesn’t tell you how far the carry is over the front trap.
Come on. This stuff is amazing, and we’re lucky to be alive and experience it.
At Implant Dentistry of Florida, we’re all in on new technology because we think it makes our patient care better and quicker. Our CEREC system is a perfect example. This state-of-the-art CAD/CAM design system allows Dr. Brown and Dr. Vaughn to create and place crowns, inlays, and onlays in just a single appointment, rather than the two appointments and waiting time they require at other practices.
What is CEREC?
CEREC is an acronym that stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. That’s a mouthful, but CEREC is a computer-aided design and manufacturing system that’s all in-house in our Melbourne offices. It allows us to take digital impressions, design the restoration, mill the prosthetic, and place it all in a single office visit.
Here’s the process of using CEREC to make a crown.
First, Dr. Brown or Dr. Vaughn prepares the tooth to receive the crown. This involves removing healthy tooth material from all sides and on top. The tooth will be made square with a flat top. This makes room for the crown to cover the tooth without taking up any more space than the original tooth occupied. Plus, it creates excellent bonding surfaces.
At this point, other practices take goopy dental impressions and send these off to a dental lab for fabrication of your crown. At Implant Dentistry of Florida, we simply take various measurements and images of your tooth with our Sirona CEREC scanner. This information is sent directly to our CEREC® 3D system. The system software allows Drs. Brown and Vaughn to create a three-dimensional design of your crown right in the office. Once the design is finished, we share it with you for your approval.
Now the final design data is sent to the CEREC® milling station. The milling station takes a small block of solid dental porcelain and mills it to the precise specs of the design. This milling usually takes around 30 minutes.
When your custom CEREC® crown is finished, we check the color match with your adjacent teeth. Then we place the crown on your tooth temporarily so you can test the fit. Once you’re satisfied with the fit and feel, we cement the crown onto your tooth and your once-endangered tooth now sports a sparkling new porcelain crown and is ready for biting and chewing. This is all done in a single appointment!
Now you have an entire extra day to waste technology by using your phone to mindlessly scroll through other people’s Facebook photos of their idyllic vacation. Or not…hopefully.
Want to put the latest dental technology to use for your oral health? Call the team at Implant Dentistry of Florida, (321) 372-7700, and let’s put CEREC to work for you.