You need a dental crown. You pay the oral surgeon near to one thousand dollars to have the implant put in. Then you wait the recommended six to eight weeks, all the while avoiding chewing on one side of the mouth. With the healing cap on and the unbalanced chewing, you are ready for the crown. The dentist removes the healing cap, takes a wax impression, takes another wax impression, and then sends you on your way. You are scheduled to return for the actual placement of your dental crown in two weeks.
Dentists are remarkable physicians with extraordinary skill sets and for whom we should all be grateful. But we have all marched to the long, drawn-out tune of scheduling and rescheduling appointments with the dentist. This to accommodate the antiquated “wax” model and outsourcing dental crown design to laboratories.
Technology has presented us with a better way. At Foothills and RiverWest Dental, we are proud to use CEREC.
CEREC (Ceramic Reconstruction) allows for a “one-visit crown,” as our dentists refer to it. With CEREC, you can walk in, get your dental crown molded, designed, milled, set, and walk out in one or two hours. Quite simply, it is a quicker, more efficient method of setting a dental crown. And although one might think that such a streamlined, technological process would cost more, the price is quite comparable to traditional procedures. The best part is that you, as the patient, save time.
CEREC technology consolidates a weeks-long process of outsourcing and design into a single afternoon. The dentist takes images of your dentition (the affected area) and uploads them to The CEREC design unit at RiverWest Dental. The crown the design unit. With the assistance of CAD/CAM is constructed in the middle chamber. design software, the dentist is able to create a 3D blueprint of your tooth prosthesis. The dentist uses the design and an onsite milling machine to construct the dental crown out of a block of porcelain. After staining (to match the color of your other teeth) and polishing, the dental crown is ready and the dentist can set it. At this point, you’ve only been waiting for your new crown for about one hour.
Although the creation of dental crowns with CEREC requires more in-house work, this technology simplifies an otherwise elongated dental process. As one of the more expensive treatments, getting a full or partial dental crown deserves a quicker fix. When you visit a dentist that uses CEREC, the process becomes a little less painless. You won’t have to wait two weeks to get your crown set. Also, there isn’t a huge price difference. At the end of the day, this technology streamlines the process of getting your new tooth.
We all want the easiest, most convenient route. This is especially true of something so important and sensitive as dental work. You’ll want to see a dentist that puts your comfort and your schedule first. So let’s make that happen for you.