One of the many tasks that a family dentist performs on a daily basis is fixing broken and decayed teeth. The approach to treatment depends on the severity of the damage to the tooth. Smaller defects can be repaired with a filling, while more extensive destruction may require a cap or crown. For many years, making a crown required making an impression of the prepared tooth and surrounding structures, which was sent to a commercial dental laboratory. Following the orders of the dentist, the lab would construct the crown and send it back to the dental office for cementation by the dentist. This was a time-consuming process that was inconvenient and required the making of a temporary crown to be placed during the construction of the final restoration and a least two appointments.
At INNOVATIVE DENTAL HEALTH, Drs. Ramer and Tran have a technology, a system called the CEREC, which eliminates the need for a second appointment. We can prepare the tooth, scan it and the surrounding structures with a three-dimensional scanner, design the crown on a computer, mill a ceramic block in a dedicated milling machine, fire it in a kiln, and cement it on the tooth, all in one appointment. It must be seen to be believed.
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