Do you just hate having dental impressions taken for crowns or other restorations? Then there is the wait before you can have your new crown fitted. Parrock Dental and Implant Centre may be able to offer an alternative method of restoring your tooth to full function, and even better it can be completed in just one easy visit to our dental surgery. CEREC crowns can be made and fitted at one appointment, and are the perfect solution for busy people who simply don’t have the time to visit us very often. They can also be a bit of a life saver if you happen to break a tooth just before an important event!
So what is a CEREC Crown?
CEREC is a type of ceramic material that is milled to fit your tooth. It is very biocompatible with your teeth, so it is a very healthy option. One of the things that make it so good for your teeth lies in the way it reacts to hot and cold foods, as it will contract and expand at exactly the same rate as your natural tooth structure. This is very important as if you have a material that expands and contracts at a different rate, for example amalgam, then it is likely to cause small stress fractures in your tooth, weakening it and leaving it prone to cracking.
Dr Rik Trivedi or another dentist in Kent will prepare your tooth for the crown before scanning it with a very small camera, eliminating the need for impressions. This produces a digital image of your tooth, and allows your crown to be designed by your dentist. Once the design has been finalised then the information is sent to the milling machine which is situated in our Parrock Street surgery.
Your crown is milled out of a single block of ceramic material that has been pre-shaded to closely match your natural teeth. It doesn’t take very long for the crown to be made, and the next step will be for your dentist to finish the crown by characterising it and polishing or glazing it so that it has a nice natural sheen. Once this step has been completed then it is simply a matter of cementing it into position. The advantage of this type of restoration is that it is all created by a computer, so the crown will fit precisely, ensuring your tooth is protected against decay, so it will be unlikely to need dental implant in Kent in the near future!
If you’d like to know more about CEREC, then why not email us on info@parrockdental.co.uk, or you can just give us a call on 01474 537191.