CEREC® stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. That is a lot of words to imply what you want to know – that this technology allows for your restoration to be produced chairside.

The traditional process of producing a crown has been first the reduction of the tooth in height and width. A putty impression is made to ensure proper sizing of the final product. A temporary crown is then placed on the prepared tooth surface and will be worn while the impressions are sent to a lab to be used to produce the crown. Wait times have been up to two weeks for a crown to be prepared, at which time a second visit to your dentist is required. At the second visit, your tooth will once again be anesthetized for the temporary crown to be removed and the new crown placed. The putty impression step has also had many challenges, as the process can be uncomfortable for patients with a strong gag reflex.

So, we can see that, until now, having a tooth crowned has typically been a process requiring several weeks and several trips to the dentist. With CEREC® technology, a digital impression of your teeth will be taken using an intraoral scanner after the first tooth reduction step. This scanner allows computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing to replicate your tooth in a ceramic material in the color and likeness of your natural tooth. Our patients can, therefore, enjoy all of the benefits of a traditionally made crown with the added benefit of having the crown placed in one day. CEREC® crowns erase the need for putty impressions, multiple visits, and temporary crowns.