BECAUSE DR. MILLNER VALUES YOUR TIME

 

SAME VISIT, PORCELAIN, CEREC 3D CROWNS

No gooey impressions, no temporaries, no return trips! 

Let's face it; very few of us have perfect teeth, free of decay and fillings.  In many cases, these fillings are much older than their normal 8-15 year life expectancy.  They can leak, weaken the tooth, or get additional decay.  In fact, millions of old mercury fillings will need to be replaced in the next 10 years.  CEREC is a method used by our office and thousands of “state of the art”, cosmetic dentists worldwide since 1987 to restore teeth that are decayed, weakened and broken.  CEREC restorations are created in a single appointment with a biocompatible, natural looking, porcelain ceramic material. They can help restore teeth to their natural strength and beauty.

Exam and Preparation  At most initial appointments,  Dr. Millner will take  radiographs (x-rays), clinically examine the teeth and determine their appropriate treatment.  Depending on how much healthy tooth structure remains, they may require fillings, onlays or full crowns;   Next, he administers an anesthetic, removes decay weakened tooth structure and prepares your tooth for the restoration. 

Optical Impression   Then, his staff simply “dusts” your teeth with a white, opaque, optical  powder and a small infrared camera is utilized in taking a three dimensional, digital picture.  This whole Optical Impression process takes only a few minutes.  And… it sure beats the old fashion method of filling a tray with impression "goop" that you must bite into and hold!!! 

No Temporaries   Next, the CEREC 3D computer takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen.   We then add our dental expertise to electronically “sculpt” the restoration.  You can watch us design it if you like!  Within a few minutes, the finished digital shape is WiFi linked to our in-office medical grade, milling machine.

A porcelain, ceramic block, matching your tooth shade is placed in its milling chamber.  Almost immediately, two water cooled, diamond coated burrs, spinning at high speeds, extend from “robot” driven arms. These computer driven diamonds, accurately shape the porcelain block, within microns, into a restoration.  About 10 - 20 minutes later, your porcelain crown or onlay is finished and ready to try in your mouth for proper fit and bite.  The restoration is then polished and bonded to the tooth.

Bonded Not Cemented   CEREC crowns and onlays are very similar to porcelain veneers.  They are bonded, not cemented, with a water insoluble “tooth-colored” filling resin.   First, the prepared natural tooth and the inside of the CEREC crown are micro-etched.  Then, the CEREC crown, filled with bonding resin, is seated.  Studies show that bonded crowns, due to their millions of microscopically etch internal grips, can adhere, long term, to almost any preparation.    And… a CEREC onlay, essentially a crown that doesn’t cover the entire tooth, can bond the remaining walls together to create an extremely strong, restored tooth.

Note: Amazingly, most non-CEREC crowns, especially porcelain on gold crowns are cemented with water soluble cement.  To prevent a cement “wash-out” and eventual crown dislodgement, conventional crowns must tightly “grip” the tooth.  Unfortunately, decayed and/or fractured teeth may leave little left to grip.  This often reduces the lifetime of a restoration.

Extremely Accurate  Unlike the 19+ individual steps and potential errors that can be incorporated into a typical laboratory made crown, CEREC’s computer driven process essentially requires just one step from the mouth to the finished restoration.  Therefore, the fit of a CEREC crown can be up to twice as accurate as a conventional laboratory crown.

Call our office today for an accurate, esthetic, same day Porcelain CEREC restoration.