A Crown in a single visit?? ….CEREC
Most dental restorative methods require more than one visit to the dentist. This means that on the first visit, you get an injection of anesthesia, your tooth prepared, an impression taken, and a temporary restoration put on your tooth. You make a second appointment for a couple of weeks later, and get an injection, have the temporary pried off, and have a permanent restoration put on. Why go to the dentist a second time when you don’t have to? With CEREC, the procedure is done in a single appointment, start to finish.
What is CEREC and how does it work?
CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) is made by Sirona Dental Systems, Inc., an international company that designs, manufactures, and markets dental equipment. It was founded in 1997 when the dental division of Siemens AG was bought out.
CAD/CAM stands for Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing, and is a type of vector software used by other professions besides dentistry – engineers, for example. It combines aspects of graphics and mathematics to create very precise designs in three dimensions.
A CEREC tooth restoration isn’t just convenient, it is also healthy. Many years ago, dentists had few options to repair decayed and damaged teeth other than amalgam, gold, and other metals. With CEREC, Dr. Artemenko can use strong, tooth colored ceramic materials to restore your teeth to their natural strength, beauty, and function. These materials closely match the composition of natural tooth structure. This means when you eat hot food and then drink something cold, the restoration and tooth expand and contract at almost equal rates. So, your tooth does not crack, and you can go on enjoying your evening. Also, the materials are chemically bonded to your tooth, so Dr. Artemenko can save as much healthy tooth tissue as possible while providing you with a dental restoration that strengthens your tooth.
Regular dental exams are essential to preventing problems and maintaining the health of your teeth and gums. At these visits, your teeth are cleaned and checked for decay. Additionally, there are many other things that are checked and monitored to help detect, prevent, and maintain your dental health.
What’s the difference between a crown and a cap?
These are restorations to repair a severely broken tooth by covering all or most of the tooth after removing old fillings, fractured tooth structure, and all decay. The restoration material is made of gold, porcelain, composites, or even stainless steel. Dentists refer to all of these restorations as “crowns”. However, patients often refer to the tooth-colored ones as “caps” and the gold or stainless steel ones as “crowns”.
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Do I need a root canal if my tooth is going to have a crown?
Not necessarily. Teeth that have had endodontic (root canal) treatment very often require crowns for stability. Crowns (or caps) are placed on teeth when their structural problems (decay or fracture, etc) cannot be properly addressed by a filling. Typically, if a tooth is missing half of its original structure, a crown or onlay is used. Root canal therapy is done most often when a nerve infection , or abscess, occurs. Because it is necessary to make an opening through the biting surface of the tooth to complete the root canal, the tooth is essentially hollowed out during the process. As a result, the vast majority of root canal treated teeth require crowns after the endodontic treatment is completed. Root canals are usually successful in saving teeth in the long term. The most common reason for loss of a root canal treated tooth is a fracture that extends into the root. Placing a crown over a tooth is the best way to prevent these fractures.
Do I need to have a root canal just because I have to have a crown?
No. While most teeth which have had root canal treatments do need crowns to strengthen the teeth and to return the teeth to normal form and function, not every tooth needing a crown also needs to have a root canal.
What’s the difference between a “crown” and a “cap”?
These are restorations to repair a severely broken tooth by covering all or most of the tooth after removing old fillings, fractured tooth structure, and all decay. The restoration material is made of gold, porcelain, composites, or even stainless steel. Dentists refer to all of these restorations as “crowns”. However, patients often refer to the tooth-colored ones as “caps” and the gold or stainless steel ones as “crowns”.
