Let's face it, very few of us have perfect teeth, free of decay and fillings.  You can probably see a filling or two in your own mouth, which do just that -- "fill" a cavity, or hole, in your tooth left from the excavation of decayed tooth structure.  In many cases, those fillings are made of metal material and can go bad, weaken the tooth, or get additional decay under or around it.  CEREC is a method u

http://www.cerec.com sed by our office to restore any tooth that is decayed, weakened, broken, etc. to its natural strength and beauty.  Better yet, it's done with all-ceramic materials that are tooth colored in a single appointment!  So, how does the cerec procedure  work?

Exam and Preparation

First the tooth is examined and the appropriate treatment is determined.  It could be a simple filling, or a full crown, depending on how much healthy tooth structure is remaining.  Next, an anesthetic is administired and your tooth prepared for the restoration, removing decayed and weakened tooth tissue. 

Optical Impression

Then, an Optical Impression of the prepared tooth is taken.  Instead of filling a tray with impression "goop" that you must bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, your tooth is coated with a non-toxic, tasteless powder.  A camera is then used to take a digital picture of your tooth.  This whole Optical Impression process only takes a minute or two.

No Temporaries

Next, the CEREC machine creates the restoration for your tooth.  The CEREC 3D software takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen.  The virtual model is used to design the restoration using the CEREC 3D computer program.  Within a few minutes the restoration design data is sent to a separate milling machine in the office.  A ceramic block that matches your tooth shade is placed in the milling machine.  About 10 - 20 minutes later, your all-ceramic, tooth-colored restoration is finished and ready to bond in place.  Finally, the restoration is tried in your mouth to ensure proper fit and bite.  The restoration is then glazed in an oven and bonded to the prepared tooth.  Your tooth is restored with no "temporary" or return trip necessary.  All of this is done in a single appointment!  Ask us about CEREC today.

http://www.cerec.com