| red | | | | single visit. You can even watch as the CEREC |
| Ceramic Tooth Reconstruction — CEREC is | | | | machine shapes your new crown or veneer. |
| one of modern dentistry’s most commonly | | | | 2. Will I feel pain or discomfort when I get a |
| used procedures for restoring a healthy smile. CEREC | | | | CEREC crown or veneer? |
| stands for Chair-side Economical Restoration of | | | | Because CEREC is such a relatively quick procedure, |
| Esthetics Ceramics. Ceramic Tooth Reconstruction | | | | it is inherently less painful. Less time sitting with your |
| — CEREC is one of modern dentistry’s | | | | mouth held open, less discomfort from an ill-fitting |
| most commonly used procedures for restoring a | | | | temporary, and less tugging and pressure to get the |
| healthy smile. CEREC stands for Chair-side | | | | permanent replacement in place all add up to a far |
| Economical Restoration of Esthetics Ceramics. This | | | | less painful experience. Also, generally, with a CEREC |
| precision automated process for creating veneers and | | | | procedure, fewer injections are needed because the |
| crowns is far more accurate, quick, and painless than | | | | amount of drilling is minimized. |
| any other procedure that came before it. Using 3-D | | | | 3. What is my CEREC tooth replacement made |
| images and specialized software, the technology is | | | | of, and how is it made? |
| able to calculate the exact dimensions of each tooth | | | | A CEREC restoration is created on the spot by a |
| to be restored. This eliminates the trial and error | | | | high-precision machine that follows the scanned image |
| formerly associated with having restorative dental | | | | of the patient’s mouth to create an excellent |
| work. | | | | replica of the original tooth. Replacements are created |
| While the technology has been around for several | | | | within less than 20 minutes in most cases, rather than |
| years, many dental patients have not experienced it | | | | requiring nearly a week like in the traditional method. |
| first-hand. Before scheduling a CEREC procedure, it is | | | | Materials used in CEREC crowns and veneers include |
| important to have a basic understanding of what to | | | | porcelain, ceramic, and other resins. |
| expect. Be sure to talk with your dentist if you have | | | | The two biggest benefits to CEREC crowns and |
| any remaining questions about the CEREC process. | | | | veneers are the speed of the whole process, reducing |
| In the meantime, the following are common questions | | | | the number of trips to the dentist from at least two or |
| about CEREC tooth reconstruction: | | | | three down to a single, one- to two-hour visit, and the |
| 1. How long will a ceramic tooth reconstruction | | | | virtually pain-free nature of the procedure. While dental |
| — CEREC procedure take? | | | | patients used to dread having crowns and veneers |
| Before CEREC, crowns and veneers required multiple | | | | done, with CEREC, their anxiety is greatly reduced. |
| visits. One visit was needed to take a mold of the | | | | Dentists and patients alike agree that CEREC is one |
| patient’s mouth, another to seat a temporary, | | | | of the most-welcomed dental advances of the past |
| and still another visit to fit the permanent replacement. | | | | decade. Countless smiles have been beautified quickly |
| With CEREC, the whole process can be done in a | | | | and painlessly using this advanced technology. |