Let’s face it, very few of us have perfect teeth, free of decay and fillings. You can probably see a filling or two in your own mouth, which do just that — “fill” a cavity, or hole, in your tooth left from the excavation of decayed tooth structure. In many cases, those fillings are made of metal material and can go bad, weaken the tooth, or get additional decay under or around it. In fact, 1.2 billion of these metal fillings will need to be replaced in the next 10 years.* CEREC® is a method used by thousands of dentists worldwide since 1987 not only to replace these fillings, but also to restore any tooth that is decayed, weakened, broken, etc. to its natural strength and beauty. Better yet, it’s done with all-ceramic materials that are tooth colored in a single appointment! So, how does the CEREC® procedure work?

The CEREC® SystemFirst, your Dentist examines the tooth and determines the appropriate treatment. It could be a simple filling, or a full crown, depending on how much healthy tooth structure is remaining and the clinical judgement of your Dentist. Next, he or she administers an anesthetic and prepares your tooth for the restoration, removing decayed and weakened tooth tissue. This preparation is just like he or she would do for many other restorative techniques.

Then, your Dentist takes an Optical Impression of the prepared tooth. Instead of filling a tray with impression “goop” that you must bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, your Dentist coats 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 only takes a minute or two.

Next, the CEREC® machine helps the Dentist create the restoration for your tooth. The CEREC® 3D software takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen. Your Dentist then uses his or her dental expertise to design the Inserting block into milling chamberrestoration using the CEREC® 3D computer program. Within a few minutes, your Dentist clicks a button, and the restoration design data is sent to a separate milling machine in the office. A ceramic block that matches your tooth shade is placed in the milling machine. About 10 – 20 minutes later, your all-ceramic, tooth-colored restoration is finished and ready to bond in place. Finally, your Dentist tries the restoration in your mouth to ensure proper fit and bite. The restoration is then polished 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! Ask your Dentist about CEREC® today. 

Thanks to CEREC, we can provide our patients with inlays, onlays, crowns and veneers in only one appointment.

CEREC® single-visit chairside restorations eliminate inconvenient impressions, messy materials, time-wasting temporaries, and unnecessary reduction of healthy tooth structure.  CEREC offers our patients the esthetics they want in just one visit.  With CEREC, our patients eliminate the need for a second appointment.

• 30 years of CAD/CAM experience
• Outstanding initial patient-specific design proposals as a result of analyzing the complete scan (Biojaw)
• Excellent grinding results using new algorithms and burs
• Simple to operate with the intuitive CEREC Software user interface
• Grinding and milling in one machine for a greater variety of materials

The CEREC system is also suitable for orthodontics: With the CEREC Omnicam, a small, powder-free video camera and the guided scanning process using the CEREC Ortho software, you can easily and quickly create a digital impression of the entire jaw. The impression data can be used to design and produce orthodontic appliances – for example the Clear Aligners® clear aligner treatment.  You save a considerable amount of time compared with the conventional methods that require physical models to be fabricated and shipped. The treatment can begin much earlier than usual in many cases.

• Faster start with aligner treatment (especially with Clear Aligners® clear aligner treatment)
• Digital storage and just-in-time production on 3D printers
• Reliable digital impressions with a compact, powder-free intraoral video camera