If you’ve ever needed a dental crown, you know the traditional drill: two appointments, weeks apart, with a temporary crown holding your tooth together in between. Getting your permanent crown meant a second time off work, another shot of anesthetic, and another hour in the dental chair.
CEREC technology eliminates all of that.
At Turners Falls Dental, Dr. Collura is one of the only dentists in Franklin County offering CEREC — a chairside system that designs, mills, and places a custom all-ceramic crown in a single appointment. Here’s what that actually means for you.
What Is CEREC?
CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. It was developed by Sirona Dental Systems and first introduced in 1985 — making it one of the most established and extensively refined CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing) dental systems in the world. According to Dentsply Sirona, more than 50 million CEREC restorations have been placed by dentists worldwide.
The system has gone through multiple major upgrades since its inception, and current CEREC technology produces restorations with a level of precision that rivals — and in many cases exceeds — what traditional dental labs can achieve.
How the CEREC Process Works
Here’s a step-by-step look at what happens during a CEREC crown appointment at Turners Falls Dental:
- Tooth preparation: Just like with a traditional crown, Dr. Collura prepares the tooth by removing decay and shaping it to receive the crown. This is done under local anesthesia for your comfort.
- Digital scan: Instead of a messy putty impression (which causes many patients to gag), a small 3D optical camera is used to take a precise digital scan of the prepared tooth and surrounding teeth. This takes about a minute and involves no physical discomfort.
- Computer-aided design: The scan is loaded into our chairside design software, where Dr. Collura digitally designs your custom crown — taking into account the exact shape, size, and bite relationship with your other teeth.
- In-office milling: The design is sent to our CEREC milling machine, which carves your crown from a solid block of high-strength ceramic. This takes approximately 15 minutes.
- Finishing and bonding: Dr. Collura checks the fit, makes any fine adjustments, polishes the crown, and permanently cements it to your tooth. You leave the office with a fully restored tooth — the same day.
The entire process takes about 90 minutes to two hours, compared to the two separate multi-hour appointments required for a traditional crown.
CEREC vs. Traditional Crowns: How Do They Compare?
A fair question. CEREC crowns are all-ceramic — meaning they’re metal-free, have the same translucency as natural tooth enamel, and produce no dark lines at the gumline over time. Traditional porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns have a metal substructure that can show through as a dark shadow as the gum recedes with age.
From a strength and longevity standpoint, research published in the Journal of Dental Research has found that CAD/CAM ceramic restorations perform comparably to — and in some parameters better than — traditional laboratory restorations. At Turners Falls Dental, every CEREC crown comes with a 10-year warranty when you maintain your regular checkups.
What Else Can CEREC Be Used For?
CEREC isn’t limited to crowns. At Turners Falls Dental, the technology is also used for:
- Inlays and onlays — restorations that are larger than a filling but don’t require a full crown
- Veneers for chipped or discolored front teeth
- Replacing old amalgam (silver) fillings with tooth-colored ceramic
- Crowns placed after root canal treatment — often in the same or a closely scheduled appointment
Is CEREC Right for You?
If your tooth needs a crown, there’s a good chance CEREC is an option. The technology is suitable for most types of crowns on back and front teeth alike. Dr. Collura will evaluate your specific situation and discuss whether CEREC or a traditionally fabricated crown is the better choice for your case.
For patients who value their time, dislike multiple dental appointments, and want the most natural-looking result possible, CEREC is often the clear preference. If you’d like to learn more or schedule a consultation, call Turners Falls Dental at (413) 774-6553.