I had a car accident and significantly damaged my two front teeth. I want to get this taken care of as quickly as possible, therefore I wanted CEREC crowns. However, my dentist doesn’t offer these. Is it out of order to ask for a referral from her?

Eiza

Dear Eliza.

I appreciate you are in a hurry with this and while it isn’t out of order to ask a referral when your dentist doesn’t do the procedure, there are some important distinctions in these different methods you need to understand. Before deciding, I want to make sure you know what you are getting into first. I appreciate you are in a hurry for this. Look at the image of the tooth on the left. You will notice that the tooth is not uniform in color and translucency. When a dentist traditionally designs a dental crown, they take this into consideration when he or she draws up the instructions for the ceramist. They will have to use various shades of porcelain to make this look natural.

With CEREC crowns, these are milled by a computer using a single block of porcelain. This will make the tooth uniform in color. There will be none of the variety of shadings you get with a natural tooth. This is fine on other teeth. However, a front tooth is quite exposed to the light. This will make the differences rather obvious. With most dentists, even those who offer CEREC crowns, you will be better off with a traditional crown.

That being said, if you are determined, then I have a suggestion. There are advanced cosmetic dentists. They will understand how to use different colored stains and tints to change the visual perception of the tooth. I would only consider using CEREC on front teeth if I went to a dentist with this type of skill. The easiest way to find them is to look for an AACD accredited dentist. These are the top cosmetic dentists in the country.

One Other Cosmetic Consideration

Once your crowns are made, no matter what type you get, the color is permanent. If you are happy with the color of your teeth then don’t worry about anything else. However, if you’ve considered whitening your teeth at some point, the time to do it would be before you have the crowns made.

If you want to do that in one appointment as well, I’d look for a dentist who offers Zoom Whitening. This can whiten your teeth the same day you go in to have it done.

This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.