CEREC® enables us at Ligocki Dental Group to restore decayed teeth, remove old amalgam fillings, place new crowns or cosmetic veneers in just one appointment. What does this mean for you as our patient? With one appointment, you can have a tooth made, allowing you to quickly get back to all the other important things in your life. In many cases, old fillings are made of metal and other plastic materials and can go bad, weaken the tooth, or get additional decay under or around it. Since 1987, CEREC® has been a method used by thousands of dentists worldwide to restore any tooth to its natural strength and beauty. Better yet, it is done with all-ceramic materials that are tooth colored in a single appointment! So, how does the CEREC® procedure work?
After the initial exam, we decide on what the appropriate treatment is for the tooth in question. We then clean the tooth and prepare it for restoration, just as we would for other restorative procedures.
Then, we take an Optical Impression (CAD/CAM technology) of the prepared tooth. Instead of filling a tray with impression "goop" that you bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, we use a camera to take a digital picture of your tooth. This whole Optical Impression process only takes a minute or two.
Next, the CEREC® machine helps us create the restoration for your tooth. The CEREC® 3D software (CAD/CAM technology) takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional, virtual model on the computer screen. We then use our dental expertise to design your
tooth. Within a few minutes, the design data is sent to our milling machine in order to mill a ceramic block that matches the color of your existing teeth.
From start to finish in about 90 minutes, your all-ceramic, tooth-colored restoration is finished and ready to bond in place. Finally, we try the restoration in your mouth to ensure proper fit and bite. The restoration is then polished and bonded to the prepared tooth. Your tooth
is restored with no "temporary" or return trip necessary. All of this is done in a single appointment! Ask us about CEREC® today!
CEREC® Procedure. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2017, from http://www.sdcerec.com/patients/cerec-procedure
CEREC® is a registered trademark of Sirona Dental Systems.