If you are a suitable candidate for a CEREC instant crown, you are more than welcome to watch your own crown being milled in our clinic! Our staff are happy to show off and let you be entertained by this piece of machinery. Sure beats watching fish swim about…

Click here to watch.

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Please come and see us as soon as possible! Crown lengthening is a common treatment procedure used to expose more tooth above the gum line where a tooth has broken at, or near, gum level. In order for your dentist to make a restoration such as a composite filling or a crown, sufficient healthy tooth has to be exposed above the gum line so that a restoration can be securely bonded.

Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure that can be carried out using local anesthesia. Numbing is the same as numbing a tooth for a filling. Tiny little incisions are made inside the gum-line, both cheek and tongue side and the gum is teased open like a little flap. A minor amount of bone is then sculpted away from the tooth to “lengthen” the tooth surface, and this is where this treatment procedure gets its name. The gum is then replaced against that tooth leaving no open wounds, therefore, healing is quick and uneventful. Self-dissolving sutures are often used and minor anti-inflammatory drugs are given after surgery. These drugs are used for comfort and aim to reduce post-surgical swelling.

This procedure should not be painful. There is the same amount of pressure and vibration as that which occurs during a typical filling.  A typical crown lengthening procedure takes about 60 – 90 minutes. Post-operative discomfort is minimal and you can go about normal activities the following day, avoiding vigorous exercise that may cause bleeding. Healing is usually evaluated in about a week to ten days. A period of approximately six to eight weeks is required prior to going ahead with final tooth restorations as it is important for the gum tissues to have fully matured.

There will be limitations as to the amount of crown lengthening that can be carried out in situations where teeth have more severe fractures. Orthodontic treatment may be recommended in some instances.

Having a small procedure such as crown lengthening will predispose successful, more permanent restoration and the survival of the remaining healthy tooth structure, so yes, if that broken tooth was healthy, it can be saved if you get it attended to immediately!

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Yay, you have a new crown, but after a day that tooth starts to feel sensitive. Sensitivity vary from person-to-person so this can be a difficult question to answer unless you consult the dentist who placed your crown.

It is helpful if you have identified as many of the facts and/or triggers for any symptoms you have. For example, are your teeth sensitive to temperature, taste, touch, pressure, or biting a certain way? It may be as simple as adjusting a minor high spot when you bite. It may even be the adjoining tooth that is sensitive. If you are having a cold, hayfever allergies or sinusitis, it may be referred pain due to the pressure in the sinuses.

Some sensitivity is normal after a crown as the tooth settles down; however, increasing sensitivity or pain after a week or more warrants a follow up visit to your dentist to re-adjust and rule out newly developed issues.

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She had a problematic canine which required a root canal and a crown. CEREC technology allowed this procedure to be done in minimal time, and in one single procedure. (Come on, which lion really wants to go back for that second appointment?) Importantly, it saved her from having a second round of anaesthesia – had it have been a conventional two-visit restoration.

Our patients too, can benefit from this technology here and now. Instead of waiting for 1-3 weeks for a new tooth to be created by the dental lab, patients can have their new tooth in one visit, one procedure.

CEREC is “Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics”, or “CEramic REConstruction”, using CAD/CAM (computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing) technology.

For those who don’t like injections, CEREC technology is ideal. Patients can have the procedure carried out in one session so there is only the need to have one set of injections, if at all.

And hands up to those who like impression material? The gaggy expanding-foam-no-more-gaps type substance which comes in an oversized horseshoe-like tray. Be gone! 3-D scanners, like our dentists, are good-looking, slim, quick, precise and very safe.

CEREC technology also takes the control of the tooth creation away from the lab, who never sees the patient, and enables the dentist to create the tooth making any minor adjustments without having to send the tooth back and forth to the lab. The 3D scanner maps the whole surrounding including opposing teeth for a precise bite. Those with most of the original but compromised tooth can have it “copied” precisely.

A major bonus is that there is no need for the dentist to make, place and adjust a temporary crown while waiting for a dental lab to create the final tooth. Milling is done by a separate unit to the scanner, and takes around 10mins for a relatively simple crown. Colour is matched and applied onsite to closely resemble surrounding teeth.

To read the article and view the footage of Naomi having her tooth restored click here.

Of course, as each case is unique, there are some instances where CEREC would not be the best option. There is never a one-size-fits-all situation, so patients should always question which method is best for them and why.

There are increasing applications for CAD/CAM technology then ever before, and we are proud to say that we are, and will be, on top of these advances.

A new set of fangs (for Halloween perhaps), anybody?

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CEREC uses CAD-CAM technology. What does CAD-CAM stand for? Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing, technology developed by W. Mörmann and M. Brandestini at the University of Zurich in 1980.

That gagging caused by impression material no longer needs to be endured when CAD-CAM is  used. The digital mapping technology of CEREC charts the inside of the patient’s mouth completely accurately and down to the last detail ensures that there is no issues, unlike the conventional and comparatively less accurate dental impression. This technology reduces the amount of follow-up work and time-intensive occlusion adjustment that was often necessary in the past. Not to mention there is no longer a need for temporary crowns when the final product is being milled onsite!

Of course, as with everything, some cases may be the exception to the rule. A bridge with many units, for example, will be better made in an external laboratory (Australian of course!).

Some case studies from the CEREC website may be found here.

You want a crown to be milled into a shape of a teddybear? It can be done! (But we won’t do it)

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All our prostheses are manufactured in Australia by local and interstate laboratories operating under strict standards from authorities like the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration.)

We do not use so-called “Australian” dental labs that actually subcontract the work overseas to countries with less stringent quality control in a bid to cut costs. Unfortunately some dental clinics do, and still not necessarily pass on those cost savings to the patient!

Australian-registered dental laboratories operate under tight regulations that serve to maintain a high standard of safety, infection control, fair working practices, qualified technicians and quality materials. These standards protect you from unscrupulous practices and substandard products that could negatively impact your health. More information about regulations and standards can be found here.

Cheaper dental imports from unregulated manufacturers cannot provide any of these guarantees.

If this is a product you want in your mouth for a very long time, it’s well worth the effort and cost to make sure it is done in an accredited laboratory. Choose Australian-made, we do.

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