When you break or damage a tooth, you’ll need to receive treatment to repair it quickly. This is so you’ll reduce the amount of time that the delicate nerves inside your enamel are exposed to the destructive bacteria that naturally exists in your oral cavity. But you’re not going to want to visit the dentist more often than you need to, which is why Hill Avenue Dental uses CEREC one-visit crown equipment. Dr. Doug Clark III knows that you’ll appreciate the short time it takes you to receive a natural-looking crown with this process. Continue reading to learn more about CEREC and its benefits.
Our CEREC, or “Chairside Economic Restorations of Esthetic Ceramics,” machine allows us to fit, create, and place your crown in just a single appointment. You won’t have to make multiple trips to our office, which will save you money. The crowns are fashioned from dental porcelain, which can give you the natural and unaltered appearance you’re looking for. Your friends and family may never even notice that you had a repair!
The first step when getting a CEREC crown is for Dr. Clark to remove a small amount of enamel from the damaged tooth. In most cases, this is completed with a local anesthetic to ensure that you don’t feel any discomfort. Then, he will take digital impressions to generate a 3D model of your tooth. This is sent from the computer to our in-office milling machine. After about an hour, the machine will craft a crown from tooth-colored dental material. This is entirely personalized to match the size, shape, and color of your natural tooth. Lastly, he will place your crown and make any necessary adjustments. Once everything looks and feels great, you will be sent on your way!
CEREC crowns offer a variety of benefits when compared to traditional crowns. Here are some of the most prominent ones:
If you’re interested in having your tooth quickly and beautifully restored with a CEREC same-day dental crown, you’re probably wondering how much you can expect to spend. While a range of factors can affect the cost of a dental crown, the team at Hill Avenue Dental will provide you with a proper cost estimate during your consultation after one of our dentists has thoroughly evaluated your oral health. Here’s a brief guide to the costs associated with getting a CEREC same-day dental crown, but please contact our office if you have any questions.
Our dental crowns are designed to be long-lasting while beautifully matching your natural dental structure, and we can manufacture them in a single day using CEREC technology. A few factors that can influence the cost of a dental crown include:
Since most dental insurance policies consider dental crowns to be necessary restorative treatments, they are usually covered at around 50% as long as they are not being placed solely for cosmetic purposes. Since each plan is different, our team will be happy to help you understand what your plan covers and file the appropriate claims with your insurance provider.
While we accept many dental insurance plans, we know that many patients who need dental crowns are uninsured or underinsured. We partner with CareCredit, a trusted third-party financier offering plans that can break your dental bill into smaller monthly payments that are easy to manage with little or no interest attached. We understand that receiving a dental crown can make a major positive difference in your oral health, so our staff will gladly help you navigate your payment and financing options so you can find the best way to make your dental crown fit within your budget during your consultation.
“Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics.” Isn’t that a mouthful? Basically, what the alphabet soup is naming is the process for making same-day crowns out of ceramic porcelain. Everything is done in-office, or “chairside,” and after roughly two hours, what you’ll get is an esthetically appealing ceramic restoration for your compromised tooth.
You probably won’t be taking a test about same-day crowns, though, so don’t worry about the name too much and feel free to stick to calling your appointment a “CEREC” treatment!
If you’re worried that the technology or convenience is going to significantly drive up the price of a CEREC crown, you can let out the breath you’re holding! While our same-day crowns are a little more costly upfront, they’re closer to a couple hundred dollars more, not a couple thousand. Many patients consider the price worth it because of the time and gas saved from not having to schedule another appointment or take off work.
Two other monetary factors involve dental insurance and longevity. As with traditional crowns, some dental insurance plans will cover at least part of the costs of a CEREC treatment, so depending on the details of your policy, you might not have to spend as much as you think. Either way, your same-day restoration will last up to 15 years with proper care, giving this investment long-term value.
CEREC crowns are minimally invasive and even less involved than a more traditional crown treatment, making them suitable for almost anyone with good oral health. In the interest of being more specific, here are the types of dental problems CEREC crowns can solve:
If you were to take one thing away from this, you should simply remember that CEREC crowns can treat all of the same dental issues that traditional crowns can – in less than half the time!
Excellent question – your comfort during treatment, after all, is just as important as your results. Since the entire CEREC process is completed in one day, we won’t have to place a temporary crown over your compromised pearly white. This means there’s no need to worry about a weaker, cheaper temporary restoration getting broken by a popcorn kernel or dislodged by taffy. You’ll be free to eat whatever you want after your CEREC treatment – though you might want to wait to enjoy crunchier snacks until your teeth aren’t as sore.
