Pope Family Dental

We practice Digital Dentistry using CEREC

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics)is a CAD/CAM process used to mill crowns chairside. This time-saving, computer-aided process allows us to efficiently construct, produce, and insert individual ceramic restorations in a single appointment.

Technology

During a chairside treatment, we carry out all the steps, from digital impressions and computer-based construction of the restoration to the milling process, inside the office. We use an intraoral camera to take a photo of the preparation, and the CEREC software creates a virtual model of your tooth. We then use this model to construct the tooth restoration on the screen and pass it on to our milling machine. It is then milled out of a color-matched ceramic block in just 6 to 15 minutes as you watch! We then add the finishing touches to the restoration by painting, polishing, and glazing it, before cementing. It's that simple!
Click here to see a video that features CEREC technology.

Benefits of Ceramic

CEREC technology makes it possible to produce and integrate ceramic restorations in a single appointment. Unlike other materials such as amalgam or gold, ceramic is more biocompatible and boasts tooth-like physical and aesthetic qualities. In addition, digital impressions are more comfortable for patients than traditional impressions. By further developing the process, it was possible to reduce the amount of follow-up work and time-intensive occlusion adjustment that was often necessary in the past. According to studies, the ten-year lifespan of CEREC inlays polished and milled with the aid of a computer is not only significantly longer than that of gold inlays, but also exceeds that of individually laboratory-manufactured ceramic inlays. Further clinical studies reveal that the success rate of CEREC restorations is 95.5 percent following a period of nine years and 84 percent after 18 years.