Have You Heard About Same Day Crowns?

At Ballston Dental Arts, we offer all of the latest technologies in patient care. The CEREC is just one of the many tools we utilize in providing superior patient satisfaction.

The CEREC is the unique CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) system for individual, all-ceramic restorations in one single appointment. This process allows dentists to construct, produce, and insert individual ceramic restorations all in one single appointment, rather than over multiple appointments with lab work & weeks in between appointments. Patients who need an onlay, inlay, or crown on their first molars are perfect candidates for the CEREC.

During treatment, the dentist carries out all the steps, from digital impressions and computer-based construction of the restoration to the milling process, inside their office. The preparation for the restoration is similar to the preparation process of a traditional crown and onlay. Once the preparation has occurred, Dr. Kim uses a CEREC attached intra-oral camera to take a digital 3D impression of the preparation, the opposing teeth, and the bite situation. Based on the images, the CEREC 3D software creates a virtual model of the patient’s tooth. Dr. Kim uses this model to construct the tooth’s final restoration on the screen, then designs the finalized crown paying careful attention to the occlusion, margin, contacts, etc. The approved finalized 3D restoration is sent wirelessly to a milling machine (located in the lab). Depending on the type of restoration, it is then milled out of a shad-matched ceramic block in just 6 to 15 minutes using diamond-coated milling units. Once milling is completed Dr. Kim can then add the finishing touches to the restoration by painting, polishing, and glazing it, before bonding the integrated ceramic restoration.

This entire process from seating the patient through check-out takes about 90 minutes. The cost of an in-office is the same as a lab fabricated crown, but you’ll only have to come to the office once instead of twice! There is no chance of having the temporary crown coming off and having to come into the office to have it put back on AND then coming back again to have the permanent crown on.

For more information on all of the latest technology Ballston Dental Arts has to offer, call the office at (703) 291-3111.