What Is Cerec?
Cerec is Computer-Aided-Design and Milled (CAD-CAM) technology that produces some of the strongest and aesthetic fillings and crowns available. After a tooth is prepared for an inlay, onlay or crown, an optical impression is made (that’s right, no more goopy impressions). The image is displayed on the computer screen. The doctor custom makes a restoration that will fit perfectly and add incredible strength to your tooth. After all adjustments are made on the computer, a restoration is milled out of a solid block of porcelain. Milled crowns, inlays and onlays have much greater strength that “stacked” porcelain restorations made in dental laboratories. Stacked porcelain has layers, kind of like the layers of an onion. Over time, as you bite and chew, these layers can flake and fracture off.
Why Choose Cerec?
One of the greatest advantages of Cerec restorations is that they are performed in only one visit. When crowns, inlays and onlays are sent to an outside laboratory for fabrication, typically a temporary restoration is placed on the tooth that is made of metal or acrylic. They are placed with a very weak temporary cement so they can come off easily when the permanent restoration is back from the lab. It can be frustrating when temporaries keep coming off, fit poorly or look unaesthetic. Most importantly, finishing the dental work in one visit saves valuable time and requires fewer trips to the dentist.
