Everything You Need to Know About CEREC Dental Technology

While you may have heard before that our office makes a significant investment in the latest dental technology, you may not understand how that affects you as a patient. We aim to change that! Today, we would like to explain to you what CEREC dental technology is, and how it can improve your overall patient experience.

What Is CEREC Dental Technology?

CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. You can understand why we like to refer to it by its acronym! We use CEREC technology to create porcelain crowns right in our office, rather than having an external lab do it.

How Does CEREC Dental Technology Work?

Let’s say that you’ve come in to get a crown, a tooth-shaped cap that’s placed over a tooth to restore its size, shape, or appearance. In the past, a procedure like this would take weeks. In the past, we would take an impression of your mouth, place a temporary crown, and then have you return for a subsequent appointment once your crown was created in a lab to cement the final restoration.

CEREC technology has revolutionized the dental restoration experience! By contrast, visiting us for a crown appointment today is a much simpler process.

When you come in for a crown, we’ll first take a digital image of your teeth – a 3D scan, if you will. CEREC software will use that image to create a virtual model of your mouth. Then, through the “magic” of CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing), your custom-fitted porcelain crown will be created in our office during that same appointment.

No more messy impressions, temporary crowns, or multiple trips to the dentist office!

What Are the Advantages of CEREC Dental Technology?

CEREC technology offers a number of benefits to our patients:

• Less Time. With CEREC technology, you can have your new crown in less than 2 hours, rather than over the course of 2 appointments.
• Financial Savings. Because we can create the crown in-house and cement it in during just 1 appointment, you’ll save more money than you would if you needed multiple appointments and we used an external lab.
• No Discomfort. Many patients don’t like wearing temporary crowns that have a tendency to break or come loose. CEREC makes them a thing of the past!
• Conservation of Tooth Structure. As dentists, it is always our desire to preserve as much of your tooth’s natural structure as possible. CEREC allows us to do that.
• Durable. Porcelain crowns are very durable. On average, you can expect to have them for 10-20 years and sometimes, they last even longer than that.
• More Aesthetically Pleasing. Unlike traditional metal crowns, porcelain crowns are the same color as your teeth. This makes them virtually unnoticeable to others, which is one reason patients prefer them.

If you have cracked or broken teeth, or even a lost filling, we can use CEREC technology to help.

To schedule your dental restoration appointment with Dr. Petry or Dr. Walton, request one online by clicking here or by calling our office at 330.434.3485. We are conveniently located at 508 E. Exchange Street in the heart of Akron.