Questions about CEREC

Serving Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale, Arizona

CEREC is a type of CAD/CAM machine which sculpts (mills) porcelain crowns and dental inlays and onlays on location at our cosmetic dentistry office. CEREC does away with the need for traditional teeth impressions, temporary crowns and fillings, or long wait periods.

How does CEREC make dental restorations?

CEREC uses digital 3D imaging to create an electronic image of your tooth or teeth which need restorations. It feeds the information into a machine that uses the image and cosmetic dentist’s input to sculpt the inlay, onlay, or dental crown out of a small piece of dental porcelain. Once the dental restoration has been created, it is dry-fitted before being affixed to your tooth with permanent dental fixative.

What material does CEREC use to make dental restorations?

CEREC can use different dental materials to create a dental restoration, but most use semi-translucent dental porcelain which can be tinted to match your natural tooth color virtually seamlessly. The porcelain crowns, inlays and onlays made by our CEREC machine do not contain metal, making them safer and often longer-lasting than traditional metal amalgam crowns and fillings.

How long does CEREC take to make a dental restoration?

Many dental offices require two or more visits to take impressions of your teeth and send them to a lab to have a dental crown created. This method requires the use of temporary crowns which often fit poorly, are sensitive, and can allow your teeth to shift between the first and second visit.

However, CEREC works at high speeds to create a dental restoration custom sculpted for your tooth. Because of this, we are able to offer same-day dental crowns to our patients. With CEREC, a 3D digital image is all that is needed to create a crown, which is quickly sculpted and placed before you leave our office. By eliminating unnecessary middle steps, CEREC technology lets you receive your dental crown the same day you need it.

Why is using CEREC better than making dental crowns,
inlays and onlays by hand?

The biggest benefit of using CEREC is making the dental crown process simpler and therefore faster, allowing you to receive your dental restorations almost immediately. However, the reduced cost of using CEREC over a dental laboratory for creating simple restorations is another large benefit, enabling us to keep the cost of your all-porcelain restorations reasonable.

If you are interested in finding a cosmetic dentist who uses CEREC for porcelain dental restorations, or if you have questions about replacing old fillings, please contact Dr. LeSueur and Dr. Dodaro today, serving Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, and Scottsdale, Arizona.