CEREC® 3D Ceramic studio

Brunel Dental Practice own our own in-house state of the art CEREC® 3Dceramic studio which allows us to make custom-made crowns on site in just one appointment.

Using Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology, our CEREC® machine allows us produce any kind of tooth restoration in just one hour. Restorations can include crowns and veneers (for chipped and discoloured teeth) and inlays and onlays (for broken down molars).

The many benefits include:

There are several advantages to having treatment with CEREC® over conventional, laboratory-made restorations:

 

• Everything is carried out in a single visit - you only need to visit the dentist once - take one day away from your work or life to have the procedure - instead of the usual two or three visits.
  
  
• No impressions required - We only need to take an ‘optical impression’ or scan of the prepared tooth. Instead of filling a tray with impression material that you must bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, we coat the tooth with a non-toxic, tasteless powder. A camera is then used to take a digital picture of your tooth. This whole optical impression process takes only a few minutes.
  
  
• Only one set of local anaesthetic injections - since the entire procedure can be carried out within the hour, you only need to have one lot of injections.
  
  
• Your dentist is in complete control of the final result - since the crown or veneer is designed and fabricated from start to finish by your dentist, he/she has total control over how it will look and fit, whereas a crown made in a laboratory is under the control of the technician who hasn't even seen the patient.
  
  
• No temporary restorations - if you have lab-made veneers, you would require temporary veneers during the wait for your new teeth. These have been known to fall off and cause problems, which is a step that is omitted with CEREC® restorations.

 

By using the CEREC® machine, no second appointment is necessary.

 

Exam and Preparation

First, we examine the tooth and determine the appropriate treatment. It could be a simple filling, or a full crown, depending on how much healthy tooth structure is remaining and our clinical judgement. Next, we administer a local anaesthetic and prepare your tooth for the restoration, removing decayed and weakened tooth tissue. This preparation is just as we would do for many other restorative techniques.

Creating the restoration

We then take an ‘optical impression’ or scan of the prepared tooth. Instead of filling a tray with impression material that you must bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, we coat the tooth with a non-toxic, tasteless powder. A camera is then used to take a digital picture of your tooth. This whole optical impression process takes only a few minutes.

Next, the CEREC® machine helps us create the restoration for your tooth. While you relax with a coffee in the lounge, the CEREC® 3D software takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen. We then use our dental expertise to design the restoration using the CEREC® 3D computer program. Within a few minutes, the restoration design data is sent to a separate milling machine. A ceramic block that matches your tooth shade is placed in the milling machine.

About 10 - 20 minutes later, your all-ceramic, tooth-coloured restoration is finished and ready to bond in place. Finally we try the restoration in your mouth to ensure proper fit and bite. The restoration is then polished or glazed and bonded to the prepared tooth. Your tooth is restored with no "temporary" or return trip necessary. All of this is done in a single appointment!