Pros and Cons of CEREC Crowns

Today, the dental industry is rapidly evolving. New and exciting dental techniques are being used to help you get the best dental care you could ask for. One of these new techniques is the use of Savage CEREC, or Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, to custom design and manufacture prosthetic crowns. How exactly does CEREC work and what are the advantages? Here is more information about the new innovative technique and the pros and cons of CEREC crowns.

What Exactly is CEREC?

If your dentist has recently mentioned that they use CEREC technology, then they are on the cutting edge of the dental industry. CEREC uses computer-assisted design (CAD) and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) to design and custom-make dental prosthetics including crowns, bridges, and veneers. If your dentist has suggested making you a CEREC crown it means that they will:

  • Use an optical scanner to take a 3D picture of your entire mouth including all of the teeth and the jaw.
  • Then they will use software to turn these 3D pictures into a digital model to design and then make your crown.
  • Last, the crown will either be made with a 3D printer or milled from a solid block of ceramic.

CEREC allows dentists to make the best possible crown for you in the shortest possible time.

Pros of CEREC crowns

CEREC is changing the dental industry because there are so many advantages the new technology offers to the patient. Some of the advantages of a CEREC crown over a traditional crown include:

  • Time savings. CEREC technology saves you a great deal of time. With the conventional approach to making crowns the patient will have to make multiple visits to the dental clinic. With CEREC, the measurement/molding and fitting can all happen within one visit. Further, the multiple day or week wait that was once required for a conventional crown to be made by a dental lab is now eliminated as the manufacturing process is completed entirely at your dental office.
  • No temporary crown means less discomfort. Previously, while waiting for your crown to be custom-made in a lab, your dentist would fit a temporary crown in its place. With CEREC crowns your custom-made crown will be designed, made, and fitted all in one appointment, eliminating the need for the temporary crown as well as the discomfort of having it installed and then removed later.
  • Best possible fit. Because CEREC crowns are computer made using a 3D image of your mouth, they offer exceptional fit. No need for multiple fittings or adjustments, just one fitting where your crown designed for you fits you.

Cons of CEREC

Of course, with new cutting-edge technology one can also expect some disadvantages. Some of the cons of CEREC crowns include:

  • CEREC technology can only be used to custom-make crowns of certain materials.
  • This new technology can only be used by a dentist who is well trained.
  • Because they require more time from the dentist, CEREC crowns are more expensive than conventional crowns.

More on CEREC Technology : How Much Do CEREC Crowns Cost?