Dr. Gottsponer and his team are certified to use the CEREC® crown restoration system. The latest in single day crown replacement technology, the CEREC® milling system enables patients to receive a custom fitting tooth/crown in a couple hours. Gone are the days of returning in two weeks to see if your new crown fits. Your teeth can be back to normal in the same day. Dr. Gottsponer strives to keep up with state-of-the-art dental treatment by continuously learning new procedures to help our patients, so you can feel confident you're getting the best care.
More about CEREC® Same Day Crowns and BRIDGES
You can now get crowns in just one visit! We can build a custom-fit, long lasting, natural colored zirconia or porcelain crown in less than a day. No repeat visits, no unsightly temporary crowns…Today’s technology is impacting cosmetic dentistry in many ways. One of these breakthrough innovations is called CEREC® .
Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics or CEREC® uses CAD/CAM technology, incorporating a camera, computer and milling machine in one instrument. Dr. Gottsponer and his team use a special camera to take an accurate picture of the damaged tooth. This optical impression is transferred and displayed on a color computer screen, where we uses CAD (Computer Aided Design) technology to design the restoration. Then CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) takes over and automatically creates the restoration while you wait. Finally, we bond the new restoration to the surface of the old tooth. The whole process takes less than 2 hours!
What does this mean for you?
There is no need for temporary crowns or taking impressions and sending them to a lab. CEREC® has over 20 years of clinical research and documentation to support the technology. The restorations have been proven precise, safe and effective.
The CEREC® ProcessCEREC® uses CAD-CAM technology to design and mill custom restorations during one visit to the dentist. So how does this process work?
Exam and Preparation
Before you get started, your dentist will determine if CEREC® is right for you. Depending on how much healthy tooth structure you have remaining, it may be a simple filling or you may need a crown. After reviewing your options, the dentist will begin the process by administering anesthetic and preparing your tooth for restoration by removing decay and weakened tooth tissue.
Optical Impression
In order to make the desired restoration, a 3-dimensional image of the tooth that needs to be restored must be created from a digital camera scan of the tooth. This three-dimensional image will be used to create the restoration without the need to take a messy impression. This means no horrible tasting impression material for you to gag on. The computer and CEREC® 3D software then converts the digital image into a three-dimensional virtual model of the prepared tooth.
Milling Unit
This device is used to used to create the custom restoration needed for the tooth. Based on the original color of your tooth, the dentist is able to select the correct colored ceramic block and in a few minutes, the milling device is able to create the restoration needed.
Placing the Restoration
After the restoration is made, it is ready to be tried on to ensure that you get proper fit and bite. When it is ready, the restoration is polished and bonded into place by your dentist. Therefore, no temporary restoration is needed and no return trip is necessary, saving you time and money.
Advantages to Using CEREC®
CEREC® has revolutionized the restorative process. It was created with the patient in mind in order to make a visit to the dentist as pain-free as possible. Some of the benefits to using CEREC® are:
- Most procedures can be done in one visit
- less costly and less time-consuming
- Less painful injections due to single-visit
- No need to take messy impressions
- No need to have a temporary restoration for in-between visits
- Ability to save as much natural tooth structure as possible
- Longer lasting restorations
- Restores teeth to natural beauty, function and strength
- Metal-free restorations