Traditionally, restoration for extensive dental decay or damage required patients schedule two appointments that took place over the course of one or more months. At Compassionate Dental Care, we’re dedicated to improving the dentistry experience for our patients by offering treatments that are more comfortable, convenient, and effective. That’s why we offer same day dental restorations using the chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramics (CEREC®) system. CEREC® is a computer assisted design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) system that allows our team to prepare teeth, design a custom restoration, mill the restoration, and place the crown, inlay, onlay, or bridge all in just one appointment.
How does CEREC® work?
The CEREC® restoration process is very similar to traditional ceramic restorations, but it takes place during a single visit rather than requiring two separate appointments. We start by preparing the tooth removing any damaged dental structure. Then, we use the CEREC® system to capture digital bite impressions. These impressions are more precise than traditional bite impressions, and are immediately available for dental labs or the chairside CEREC® milling unit. Once the bite impressions and restoration plan are sent to the milling unit, a solid block of high quality ceramic is crafted into a custom restoration taking between twenty minutes and an hour in most cases. After the milling unit has completed the restoration, we carefully place, seal, and shine the crown, inlay, onlay, or bridge for beautiful, natural looking results that last for decades with proper care. In most cases, the restoration blends so seamlessly that the casual observer has no idea that patients have a dental restoration.
