Keeping your natural teeth remains the best approach to your oral health. Dentures are prone to slipping because there’s no replacement for tooth roots. Dental implants solve that problem, but they still represent compromises.
Sometimes, though, damage and decay happen, compromising the full integrity of a natural tooth. If it’s still functional but in a weakened state, a dental crown completely encloses the above-the-gumline portion of the tooth, adding support and strength to extend the life of your natural tooth.
Crowns used to take weeks to place, with tooth preparation and off-site crown manufacture. Today, there’s CEREC®, a system that mills a custom crown in a single appointment.
We’re pleased to offer CEREC same-day crowns to our patients at Silver Lake Dentistry. In this blog, you can find out more about this convenient improvement on the crown process to learn if it’s the best option for you.
An artificial enclosure that caps an existing tooth, covering the portion above the gum line, you can think of a dental crown as a reinforcing layer of armor cemented to your natural tooth. Crowns frequently restore teeth affected by various types of damage, including problems stemming from:
A crown immediately improves the appearance of a tooth while also adding strength and support. We assess your suitability for a crown with a thorough examination, including X-rays and an evaluation of your overall dental health.
Whether you need a crown to strengthen a weak tooth or fix the appearance of a tooth, you have options. Same-day crowns can be a great choice, but you may prefer to go the traditional route if you’re restoring a front tooth or seeking a crown made of a material other than ceramic.
Short for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, CEREC crowns are milled from a block of strong ceramic using digital impressions we make after preparing your existing tooth to receive the finished product. We cement your CEREC crown into place during the same appointment with a special, permanent dental adhesive.
The advantages of the CEREC crowns include:
Every crown starts as a scan of your tooth. The crown itself is cut in the office as you wait. Traditional crowns made in an off-site dental lab can take up to two weeks.
CEREC crowns offer added strength to your tooth, and the ceramics used are also long-lasting. With regular dental care, you can expect your crown to last for many years.
Traditional crowns sometimes use metal, creating an unnatural appearance in your mouth when you smile. CEREC crowns use a ceramic that closely matches your surrounding natural teeth.
At your same-day crown appointment, we take 3D digital scans of your tooth and design a computer-assisted model of the finished crown. The CEREC system uses this information and creates your permanent crown in about 15 minutes. Once we cement your new crown in place, that’s it.
Oral care for dental work such as a crown is the same as for your natural teeth, brushing and flossing daily and maintaining your regular dental cleaning schedule.
Contact Silver Lake Dentistry to find out more about the CEREC system and how it can help to improve your smile in a single appointment. Call our office at 816-287-3216 to book your visit now.
