While for some, dental treatments can seem mysterious and scary, continuous advances in dental technology have made treatments faster, more convenient, easier, and more comfortable. This is especially true for CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, or CEramic REConstruction) technology. CEREC dental technology has helped improve the dental crown procedure by leaps and bounds. What is CEREC? What does it do, and what makes CEREC technology so special?
CEREC CAD/CAM
Cerec technology is CAD/CAM–Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing–technology that has changed the way, and the amount of time it takes to fabricate dental restorations. CEREC technology can be used for crowns, veneers, inlays, onlays, and other dental restorations. While it usually takes several dental visits to complete a restoration, dentists who use CEREC technology can design, create, and place a crown in one day. No longer does it take more than one visit.
How CEREC Technology Works
Rather than use messy impression materials, your dentist can take a 3-D impression of your tooth using a special digital camera that fits comfortably inside your mouth. The pictures go straight to a computer where your dentist is trained to use special software to design your restoration. Once the design is complete, the computer sends the design requirements to an in-office milling station. The impressions and specs are no longer sent to an outside lab where it can take up to two weeks to fabricate the restoration. Instead the milling station fabricates it right on-site, and once the restoration is fabricated, it is ready to be placed. All in a single office visit!
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