Single Day Dental Crown Fitting

Using technology to speed up your dental treatments.

Having a dental crown fitted can be a drawn out process, with two appointments typically needed  to complete the treatment. Generally speaking, when a tooth has broken to the extent that it can’t be filled, a first appointment will need to be made where the damaged tooth is prepared and impressions taken which are then sent to a laboratory, where the crown is produced. This process can take a week or more, during which time, a temporary crown will be fitted. Another appointment will then be needed to fit the new crown.

CEREC

Whilst the traditional process for making crowns works, it is inconvenient and time consuming for our patients from Burton and Ashby. For nervous patients too; although the fitting of a crown is pain free, there is still some anxiety about dental visits. So to be able to do this all in a single visit is a major benefit and at Alexandra Dental Care, we are able to do this through the use of CEREC technology. This is a CAD-CAM machine which produces very high quality ceramic dental crowns in under one hour; no more waiting a week or more for a laboratory produced one!

Studies have also shown that CEREC produced crowns (and also inlays and onlays) tend to be stronger and longer lasting than laboratory produced ones.

Procedure

Instead of having impressions taken, a process some patients find a little uncomfortable, CEREC technology simply takes a scan of the prepared tooth; a process that only takes seconds. This information is then fed into the computer and your new crown is then produced from a single block of ceramic whilst you wait. The new crown will then be attached to the prepared tooth, in the usual manner, using a strong dental adhesive to ensure it remains in place during normal use.

Crown detachment

CEREC produced crowns, like regular ones, should be expected to last for approximately ten years, and often more. In some cases though, they can become detached from the natural tooth. There can be any number of reasons for this; biting on something unexpectedly hard or even as the adhesive gets older. The important thing to do when this happens is to have it professionally re-attached.

Using a regular adhesive and doing it yourself will cause problems and whilst this may sound odd, we have seen it attempted! Not only will the adhesive compromise the ceramic but bacteria may also be trapped between the crown and the natural tooth, eventually leading to dental decay.

If your crown does become detached, simply call Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347 and we will arrange to check and re-attach it as soon as possible.

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