A dental crown looks like the visible upper portion of a natural tooth and, if created by an expert, like Dr. Marine, no one will know that you did not always have a perfect set of teeth.
Crowns are used for a wide variety of conditions, including cracked teeth(holding them together), covering up chipped ones, protecting those that have been damaged if you grind your teeth during sleep, to give a better look for one that is misshapen, or to cap off a dental implant (if you lost a tooth). They can also be used to hold a dental bridge in place.
The problem for patients is that it usually takes several weeks and 2-3 visits to get a traditional crown placed. On the first visit, an impression of the area needing the crown is sent to a dental lab and a temporary one of acrylic is provided (with a caution to be careful when chewing). On the return, you hope the permanent crown fits.
Dr. Marine can offer this solution in just one visit and an emphasis on gentle dental care. That is because Pacific Dental Care is one of the relatively few practices with an advanced CEREC machine (which stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Aesthetic Ceramics). This provides you with a number of advantages:
1) CEREC same-day-crowns save time: you only need to set one appointment, travel to our office once, and sit in the dental chair one time. In a few hours, you’re done (for a single crown, in any event).
2) CEREC means less hassle: you take just a few hours off work or during a weekend, only need to arrange a babysitter or pick-up for your kids from school once, and will only have to be numbed in the dental chair one time.
3) CEREC produces a very accurate digital model using a CAD/CAM computer that is a perfect fit for a damaged tooth or a match for a missing one and its neighbors. It is sent to our in-office milling machine to carve it out of dental porcelain. Dr Marine will polish, stain, and glaze the crown, then harden and strengthen it in a furnace.
4) CEREC crowns do not leave a black line around the gums, like conventional crowns do.
5) CEREC crowns make it possible to speak and eat immediately afterwards, just as you did with all of your natural teeth. No gingerly weeks with the temporary.
6) CEREC crowns eliminate the gooey impression-taking step ones needs for a conventional crown and the anxious waiting for weeks to know what the permanent one will be like. Within hours, you know you can walk out the door as if you never had a problem.
7) CEREC crowns are as durable as ones made by a dental lab, resisting stains and chipping. With care, these can last over 10 years. They do not get cavities themselves, but you do have to continue to brush and floss to avoid having cavities start on any part of the teeth to which they are attached.