When you have a damaged tooth, you need to repair the damage fast. It doesn’t matter if the damage is from tooth decay, a biking accident, or something else. The pain is there. You can’t use the tooth to eat. And you need relief now, not in a few months.
That’s where dental crowns come in. These caps fit snugly over damaged teeth. They seal up any damaged areas, stopping them from getting worse. A crown also holds a tooth together when there’s a danger of it fracturing. And by taking care of such damage, crowns can let you eat comfortably with those teeth once again.
At our Alma, MI dental office, we have a unique system in our office: the Chairside Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramic, or CEREC. This amazing machine helps us create dental crowns faster and more accurately than ever before. Here are some reasons why CEREC crowns work so well.
You can get the crown the very same day you come in. Normally, the process to get a crown can take weeks. First, a dentist measures your teeth. Then the measurements are sent to a lab. The lab slowly makes your crown, and in a few weeks, sends it to the dentist. Finally, the dentist puts it on your tooth. By having a CEREC machine in our Alma, MI dental office, we can measure, make, and place your dental crown all in one visit. That saves you time, trips to the dentist, and more. Plus, this means you won’t have to wear any temporary crowns while you are waiting. You walk in, and then you walk out with the dental crown in place.
You won’t need to bite down on an unfamiliar substance to make an impression. In the past, dental crowns required you to bite down on a thick, putty-like substance for several minutes. It felt uncomfortable and tasted worse. But that was the only way to get an impression of your teeth so the lab could know what shape the crown should be. The CEREC system doesn’t use any substance like that. Instead, a high-resolution camera uses light to scan and capture images of your teeth. Then, three-dimensional CAD/CAM software in the CEREC system helps generate the exact measurements for the crown.
The fit can be much more accurate thanks to 3D imaging. The CEREC system doesn’t rely on an impression for measurements. Instead, it uses three-dimensional images of your teeth and processes them through a Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system. These images can be rotated and manipulated by Dr. McDonald to make sure the crown is designed well on all angles. This makes sure the crown will fit snugly and accurately over the damaged tooth.
The porcelain used to make your crown is as tough as enamel. The reason you’re getting a dental crown is likely because the tooth has been damaged. Whether it was by tooth decay or an accident, the damage needs to be repaired so you can use that tooth again without pain. That’s what a CEREC crown will do. The porcelain used by the CEREC machine is as tough and durable as your natural enamel. No, it’s not perfect, but neither is your enamel.
Your crown will be as translucent as a regular tooth. When you get a treatment that covers a tooth like a crown does, you do not want it to stand out. A crown could be made out of silver and mercury like old dental fillings, but unless you enjoy looking like you have a mouth full of metal, you want something that looks natural. The porcelain used by the CEREC machine is not only colored to look like a natural tooth, but it also has the same translucent look like enamel. When the CEREC crown is placed on your tooth, people will have a lot of trouble realizing it’s not one of your real teeth.
Crowns last longer than fillings to repair damaged teeth. There are other treatments you can get to repair a damaged tooth. Composite fillings can repair cavities, and tooth bonding can fill in and cover small chips or hairline cracks. But dental crowns are made from a durable porcelain designed to last a long time. For some patients, a crown lasts a lifetime.
Dental crowns have always done an excellent job at repairing damaged teeth. Crowns protect your teeth as well. With the CEREC system in our Alma, MI dental office, you can get beautiful but incredibly strong crowns the same day as your visit. Call us today at (989)-773-2133 for an appointment so you can get a CEREC crown on a trouble tooth.