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Considering CEREC Crowns

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I’ve always had traditional crowns. Now my dentist has this new CEREC machine and is suggesting I have a CEREC crown. Before I get something different, I wanted to make sure they’re okay. I noticed you used them as well and wondered what you like about them over the traditional variety.

Everett

Dear Everett,

Block of porcelain for a CEREC crown

I always think it is important for patients to understand exactly what they’re getting along with the options available to them.

CEREC Crowns are Placed in Just One Appointment

With your traditional crowns, your dentist would provide you with a temporary crown and send specific instruction to a lab to make your permanent ones. There is usually a two week wait time before your crowns are ready to be bonded. With CEREC crowns, your permanent restoration is milled right there in the office at the time of your appointment. You will leave with your permanent crown already bonded and ready to go.

CEREC Crowns Look Like Natural Teeth

Unlike porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns, these are milled from a block of porcelain without the need for a metal base. Because of that, they will have the shine and translucency of your natural teeth. Plus, they will never develop a gray line at the gumline the way their metal-based counterparts do.

CEREC Crowns Do Not Cost Extra

With the benefit of not needing two appointments and the crowns looking more natural, you’d think there’ would be a greater cost. Fortunately, that is not the case. While the CAD-CAM machines which are used to create CEREC crowns run a dentist a significant amount of money, the cost ends up about the same as with other dental crowns because the dentist is saving money he would normally have to spend on lab fees.

Giving Yourself a Youthful Smile

If you are having a CEREC crown made on a tooth which is visible when you smile, you may want to consider getting your teeth whitened. The color your CEREC crowns are made will be permanent. If you are considering teeth whitening, it is best to have it done before your crown is designed by your dentist. This way it can be made to match your new brighter, more youthful color of teeth.

You can, of course, have teeth whitening done at a later date. Just be aware that the special gel your dentist will provide only works on natural tooth structure. While your teeth will whiten, the crown will not.

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

Will CEREC Crowns Fall Out?

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I’m a little nervous and want to make the correct decision. I have to get a dental crown for the first time in my life. In truth, my nervousness comes from hearing my friends complain about their crowns. I was at a party the other night and my pal Dan had a crown fall out right there at the party. I would have been humiliated, but he took it in stride. Apparently, this was the third time he’s lost this crown. His fiance said she once had a crown that looked so obviously fake she had to have it re-done twice until she liked it. She said it cost her a small fortune, but because it was visible it was important to her. I have three things which are important to me in regards a dental crown.
1. I don’t want it to fall out.
2. I want it to match my teeth and look natural.
3. I don’t want it to be noticeable to me, ie. it shouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
I’ve done some research and people are raving about CEREC crowns. Do they meet with the criteria I’m hoping to meet?

Steve L.

Dear Steve,

CEREC Crown

I love specificity in expectations and questions. This really helps me thoroughly answer. We’ll take your specifications one by one. First, it’s important to you that your crowns not fall out. I don’t blame you. Honestly, that’s the least you should expect.

When a dental crown is properly shaped, it can stay in place by suction alone. Of course, it won’t stay there when you chew on sticky things, which is why we add an additional layer of protection by bonding the crowns. The bonding procedure requires the cement to be up to date and properly mixed. Plus, the tooth must be kept dry. Without a proper bonding, the crown will fall out. With proper design and bonding, a CEREC crown will not fall out (or any crown for that matter). If it does, the problem isn’t the crown. It’s the fault of the dentist.

Secondly, it was important to you the crown look natural and match your teeth. Again, this can be done with either a CEREC crown or a traditional crown. What matters, in this case, is the cosmetic skill of the dentist. An artistic dentist can make it look both natural and beautiful. It is important they use all-porcelain crowns. Metal based crowns require the porcelain to be too opaque to look natural. Plus, they develop a dark line at the gumline. CEREC crowns are all-porcelain.

As I mentioned earlier, the artistic skill of the dentist does matter. The most highly skilled dentists have reached accreditation level with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). You can check their website to see if there are any AACD accredited dentists in your area. If there aren’t any, you can also check the mynewsmile.com website. They have a “find a cosmetic dentist” link. If you input your zip-code and select the number of miles you’re willing to drive, they’ll list out expert cosmetic dentists in that range. You’ll be safe with any of their listed dentists. In fact, most of them have a beautiful smile guarantee.

Your third criteria was that the crown fit comfortably so you’re not distracted by it. Obviously, finding the right dentist for your first point will take care of this one as well. But, it may make you more confident to know that CEREC crowns are milled by a computer, which makes them very precisely milled.

I hope this helps answer your question.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.

Can I exchange more metal based crowns for porcelain veneers?

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I have these horribly ugly dental crowns. I talked to my new dentist about it and he said it’s because they are metal based. He said to get pretty ones, they’d need to be all porcelain. I’ve also heard about porcelain veneers that they can give you a great smile. Could I get those? They’re both porcelain.

Mandy F. – Little Rock, AR

Mandy,

While porcelain veneers are great for a smile makeover, they can’t replace your dental crowns. When you get dental crowns, your teeth have to be ground down. Your teeth don’t get ground down for veneers, so there isn’t enough tooth structure left for them.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get a gorgeous smile makeover if you want one. The all-porcelain crowns can be shaped any way you want. Then, on the non-crowned teeth, you could get veneers.

You’ll only need the front six to eight teeth re-done and then do teeth whitening on the rest. However, do the whitening first. Once your teeth are the color you want, then you get the veneers/porcelain crowns to match the new color.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Rothwell.

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