Hello to everyone, we at Hartwell Dentistry hope that the New Year has greeted you well!
In this first Dentist Camberwell Blog for 2011, I will be discussing the amazing opportunities that CAD-CAM ceramic dentistry has treated our patients with the best the world has to offer. Over the past 2 years we have treated almost 800 teeth with this optimal technology achieving fantastic results for our patients. From crowns, veneers to large restorations, these can all be completed in 1 visit with this technique with improved prognosis and comfort.
To better understand cerec crowns and restorations you need some background on how conventional crowns are manufactured.
Traditionally a crown takes 2 visits. On the first the tooth is prepared, an impression taken and a temporary crown is made with a plastic material. The impression is sent to a lab either in Australia or China where your crown will be made. You return 2 weeks later to have the crown fitted.
With CAD-CAM Cerec restorations the whole process is completed in 1 visit. The crown is made by the computer while you wait. After preparing the tooth, a 3-D optical scan of the tooth is taken and with Computer Assisted Design software, the new tooth is then generated from a pure flawless block of ceramic in our milling unit. It is milled to fit precisely. The new tooth can then be bonded into position ready for immediate use.
Advantages of Ceramics:
- Cerec restorations have a 90-96% success rate over 10-15 years, equal to gold as the best restorative material available.
- Cerec restorations are made in one visit, saving an extra visit, travel, and considerable time for the patient.
- With Cerec, there is no need for impressions or a temporary crown, which eliminates a significant potential discomfort for the patient in temporising the tooth , and no 2nd visit with local anaesthetic is required.
- Cerec restorations have no metal in them, and thus are more aesthetic.
- Cerec material and technology can be used for fillings, large restorations and crowns. Since they are made out of porcelain, they are more durable than white composite resin fillings.
- New technology associated with this high -tech equipment does make the cost of the restoration relatively expensive. However, it is STILL at the same cost as a traditional crown.
Disadvantages:
- Using Cerec technology requires extra training on the part of the dentist. You need to be sure your dentist is an expert in this technology.
This technology has changed the way we help our patients and treat their teeth. It is truly an exciting era for dentistry and one which we can share with the community.