CEREC® 3D
Technology today is changing our everyday lives. Many people, however, aren't aware that technology also is impacting dentistry in new and exciting ways. Cutting-edge innovations in dental instruments are requiring less time in the dental chair, causing less discomfort and creating satisfying results. One breakthrough instrument, called CEREC® 3D, allows dentists to quickly restore damaged teeth in one visit with natural-colored ceramic fillings, saving patients time and inconvenience.
What is CEREC® 3D?
CEREC® 3D is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. Translated, it means that we can economically restore damaged teeth in a single appointment using a high-quality ceramic material that matches the natural color of other teeth.
This means one visit crowns, veneers and onlays with no “temporaries” to fall off and no second visit -- think of the time, local anesthetic needles and pain this saves!
With no second visit there is:
- No second trip to my office
- No gloppy impression material
- No second visit shot to numb the teeth,
- No second uncovering of the prepared tooth structure, and
- No second visit trauma to the tooth from exposing, cleaning off temporary cement and irritating the pulp and nerve tissue a second time for permanent cementation.
How does the instrument work?
CEREC® 3D uses CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) technology, incorporating a camera, computer and milling machine in one instrument. Dr. London uses 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 use CAD technology to design the restoration. Then CAM takes over and automatically creates the restoration while the patient waits. Finally, Dr. London bonds the new restoration to the surface of the old tooth. The whole process takes about 90 minutes.
What does this innovation mean for a patient?
A tooth-colored restoration means no more silver-mercury fillings discoloring smiles. The filling is natural-looking, compatible with tissue in the mouth, anti-abrasive and plaque resistant. We no longer need to create temporaries or take impressions and send them to a lab. Because of this, the traditional second visit has been eliminated.
What Are the Advantages CEREC® 3D Offers? Inlay Onlay Crown
We can perform the restoration in a single session, usually in about one to two hour(s).
- No need to make an impression and send it to a lab
- No return visits for the patient
- The restoration is natural looking, as it is made out of tooth-colored ceramic material
- Ceramic material is bio compatible, high-grade, anti-abrasive and plaque-resistant.
- Metal-free -- no silver-colored fillings.
- Allows us to save more of the healthy tooth
- Extremely precise
- CEREC® 3D has over a decade of clinical research and documentation to support the technology. .