Dental crowns (or caps) have been used to fix broken or decayed teeth for over one-hundred years. For most of this time, gold crowns were the best choice. But what if you don’t want to flash an 18-carat grin?

After that, a way was found to make a tooth-colored crown out of porcelain fused to metal (PFM), much in the same way that porcelain bath tubs and kitchen sinks are made. The problem is that a PFM crown looks unnatural because, unlike your real tooth, this type of crown does not let light come through, and it leaves a dark color at the gum line which can be quite unattractive, especially for a front tooth. In addition, gold crowns and PFM crowns require at least two dental appointments. For the first appointment, the dentist prepares the tooth and takes impressions (models) of your teeth. This impression is sent to a dental lab where the crown is made. The turnaround time can be up to two weeks. In the meantime, your dentist will place a temporary crown on the tooth. At the second dental visit, your dentist removes the temporary crown and the permanent crown is cemented in place. While there is nothing wrong with doing crowns this way, Sirona has invented a strong, all-porcelain crown that can be made in about an hour!

CEREC, which is an acronym for CEramic REConstruction, was first introduced in 1987. The porcelain used in a CEREC crown is made by a process called sintering. This means that the porcelain is heated below its melting point, so that the resulting product is stronger and more able to resist breaking due to the forces of biting and chewing.

The CEREC system uses CAD/CAM technology. First, an infrared photo is taken of your tooth. Using the software provided by CEREC, your dentist is able to design your crown using 3D imaging. This information is sent to the milling machine via wireless or direct wired transmission. Next, the block of CEREC porcelain is put in the milling machine. With the press of a button, the machine can make the crown in 10-15 minutes. When the crown is done, your dentist can permanently cement the crown in place with a strong dental cement. That’s it! You now have a new, natural-looking crown made in about an hour with no messy impressions, no temporary crowns, less dental anesthesia, and all in one dental visit!