Cerec Technology
There are many ways to restore teeth. Often, if the problem is relatively small, a tooth colored restoration is used to restore the tooth with a white filling which is bonded directly to the enamel. However, when a larger portion of the tooth is involved, an inlay, onlay, partial crown, or full crown may be indicated. These are all restorations that are fabricated outside of the mouth and then glued or bonded to the tooth. There are a variety of materials and techniques to accomplish these magnificent restorations, but Dr. Steve's favorite way is using CEREC technology. CEREC, an acronym for ceramic reconstruction, is a very sophisticated computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system.
Doctor Steve presents lectures on CEREC technology, for students and falculty, at the University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry.
How Does CEREC Work?
First, Dr. Steve prepares the damaged tooth by painting a thin layer of reflective powder directly on the tooth's surface. Using a special camera, he then takes a picture of the tooth.
Computer aided design technology helps the doctor design the restoration from the optical impression.
Then computer aided manufacturing mills the restoration from a ceramic block that matches the patient's tooth color. The milling process takes about 15 minutes. Finally, Dr. Steve bonds the newly milled restoration to the tooth using an adhesive.
|
Click on photos to enlarge
Click on photos to enlarge
|
What Kinds of Procedures Can It Perform?
What are the Advantages Cerec Offers?
- One visit restoration
- No impressions
- No temporaries
- Extremely precise due to the advanced
computer technology
- Allows dentist to save more of the
healthy tooth
- The restoration is natural looking,
as it is made out of tooth-colored ceramic
- More durable than traditional
lab-processed ceramics
- Metal and Mercury free
- Ceramic material is biocompatible, high-grade,
anti-abrasive and plaque-resistant
- Bonds to enamel so well, the bond is
stronger than the tooth itself
- No return visits for patient
Cerec Milling Machine creating a restoration.
Quality, Precision, and Speed!
|
|
