Get a Crown in One Day !


I went to my dentist in Orange Beach this week because a side of a back tooth had cracked and broken off. I wasn't in pain, and couldn't believe that.

Anyway, I got a porclean crown in one visit because he has this incredible tooth camera, software and computer driven milling machine that makes your crown on the spot.

He took photos of the tooth before drilling from several angles w/ a camera the size of a sharpie. He removed a good deal of my tooth that had fractures and could show me on a big flat screen exactly what he had done (my tooth was the size of a grapefruit on the screen).

He then uses the camera to take a digital pictures of your prepared tooth. The computer and CEREC 3D software converts the digital picture to a three dimensional virtual model of your prepped tooth. Dr. Brackett designs your restoration right on screen using the software while you wait (and watch!). He can rotate the 3-D model of your tooth in all directions. It is incredible. He does a click, and the design data is communicated via a wireless radio signal to the CEREC Milling Unit.

He selects a ceramic block that matches the shade of the tooth being repaired and inserts the block into the Milling Unit. The data from the Acquisition Unit is used to direct two diamond coated burs to carve the block into the indicated shape of the restoration. After the milling is finished, the finished filling or crown is polished and bonded it into place.

He can use this fancy method for designing any single tooth restoration: crowns, inlays (fillings), onlays (partial crowns), and veneers.
Not cheap, but it was really cool and you get to watch and it is a one visit fix.

I was curious, so I did a web search and it seems the CEREC unit costs about 100 grand.

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