CEREC®: 3-D Printing For Your Teeth!

3-D PRINTING MIGHT SEEM like the newest technological innovation, but it has actually been around since the 1980s, when Chuck Hull printed a cup meant for washing out irritated eyes. His process is still the one we use today to print all kinds of things, including dental crowns!

The traditional procedure for making crowns is to fill trays with a putty-like substance. This goes in the patient’s mouth to make an impression, which then goes to a lab where they use it to make the crowns or implants. This process requires you, the patient, to come back for a second visit. Luckily, Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics® (CEREC) streamlines that process, making it easier for dentists and patients alike!

Benefits To Using CEREC In Our Practice:

CEREC allows us to take an image of your tooth, design it, mill it and place it immediately; no second-shot, second-visit or temporaries that fall off.  The material used for your new crown or onlay allows us to only mill and replace the part of the tooth that is necessary, allowing for a more staple restoration made with the most tooth-like structure. While your tooth is milling you can relax with a movie and a paraffin hand wax!

Take a look at a CEREC machine shaping a crown in slow motion:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGbllSvLluA

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.