A great smile is an asset. It gives confidence and enhances the personality. But millions of people suffer from tooth-related problems like tooth loss, cavities, etc. Some of the treatments like root canals, and gaps in teeth require crowns. Dental crowns are a miracle in dentistry that helps the patient to maintain the facial structure. Due to technological evolution, dental crowns have seen some major changes. Let us learn about the new age Cerec crowns and the traditional dental crowns
The CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics):
CEREC is a popular and new method of dental crown. This dental crown is designed with CAD/CAM technology. This process is quick and hassle-free. The dentist examines the patient just like it is done in the traditional method. The patient is given local anesthesia to remove decayed areas of the tooth. A layer of enamel is removed and buffed to fix the crown with the cement. The scanning and x-ray process gives a 3D image of the mouth which creates the digital impression. Then the CAD technology designs and mills the crown. This process usually doesn’t require adjustments like the traditional one. Once the crown is fitted it is polished to suit the teeth set. This entire process only takes a few hours. This process beats the traditional one in terms of time consumed in preparation and is completed in just one visit. It offers convenience to the patient. The CEREC crowns use digital impressions making the fit more accurate. It is made from blocks of porcelain which is a durable and reliable option. Another option is with composite resin which is also good but it lasts for a lesser number of years compared to porcelain. Lastly, CEREC crowns are designed to offer an aesthetic look and are made in front of the patient by checking the size and shape.
Traditional dental crowns:
The traditional dental crown placement scenario requires the patient to invest a good amount of time. This process is quite lengthy and demands multiple visits to the dentist’s clinic. Usually, the dentists evaluate the need for having a crown for the patient’s tooth based on the x-ray in the first visit. This step is done to check if the tooth is decayed, or cracked or if the bone is fine or not. Also, the process identifies and highlights if there is any other concern like infection to deal with before the crown is placed. The process starts with numbing the tooth and surrounding area with local anesthesia.
There are many types of materials used in a crown. It acts as a deciding factor for reshaping the tooth. The dentist also suggests filling any gaps before they take impressions. Until the second visit, the dentist fixes the gap with a temporary crown which comes with a few restrictions like not chewing nuts and sticky food, etc. The temporary crowns are made with 3D technology swiftly. It is an essential step in the traditional crown as the dentin remains exposed after the reshaping and leaving the tooth without any protection is a disaster. The impression requires a minimum of five minutes to set and for the team to evaluate if there are any bubbles or air gaps. The dentist takes several impressions to ensure accuracy because even a slight bubble will ruin the final output. The second visit is the final one where the patient receives the permanent crown. It may take a few weeks to get the permanent crown based on the material required. The dentist removes the temporary crown and cleans the place to fix the permanent one. With a string of dental floss, the contacts between the crown are checked thoroughly to eliminate future risks. The bite is checked to see if there is any high bite which causes tooth pain in the future. There are several types of traditional crowns like metal, porcelain, and different types of resins. The metallic crowns are less expensive yet durable. they withstand biting and forces. The zirconia crowns are also lasting and ensure a natural look of the teeth with less enamel removal. The resin crowns last only for a few years and are comparatively less expensive.
To wrap up, the patient has a lot of options available thanks too the technology. So getting a dental crown whether traditional one or the Cerec depends vastly on the availability of time and patience.
