CEREC is an acronym for chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramics. This complicated phrase simply means CEREC puts the entire restoration process in the hands of the skilled and knowledgeable Sage Dental Care team. No need to wait for restorations from labs or schedule multiple appointments in our office. Traditionally, damaged teeth had to be repaired over the course of two or more trips to our Reno dental office. At Sage Dental Care, we’re proud to offer the simple CEREC one visit restoration option. We’ve invested in the state-of-the-art CEREC same day restoration system. This all digital, precision technology allows our skilled dentists to design, craft, and place a dental crown, bridge, or other advanced dental restorations in just one trip to our office.
The typical restoration process is broken up into two appointments. Your initial visit would be spent preparing the tooth or teeth, capturing bite impressions, designing the restoration, and placing a temporary. You’d then wait for the lab to provide the custom crown or bridge. Then, you returned to the office to exchange your temporary for this flawless restoration. At times, patients needed to schedule additional visits, if their restoration did not fit well.
CEREC allows us to effortlessly complete this entire process in one day. We start by numbing the treatment area. Then, your tooth or teeth are prepared. We remove a small amount of surface enamel, which allows the restoration fit completely over the supportive tooth structure without changing the line of the smile. Next, the state-of-the-art digital impression wand captures precise images of the prepared bite. We use these impression scans to create a digital design for your crown or bridge. The design is transferred to an in-office milling unit where a single, custom shaded block of high quality dental ceramic is shaped into your final restoration. We place the crown or bridge, make adjustments as necessary, and seal your restoration in place. This leaves you with a flawless smile in one appointment.
The friendly Sage Dental Care team loves having the opportunity to see our patients for multiple appointments, but we know this isn’t the most convenient solution for you and your loved ones. In addition to saving you time, CEREC one-visit restorations have numerous benefits including:
When dental emergencies happen, most dentists are available to help patients relieve pain and begin the restoration process. With our CEREC system, we’re often able to fully repair a damaged smile on the same day patients call us in need of emergency dentistry services. This means you can come in with a broken, chipped, or knocked out tooth, and leave with a flawless, healthy smile.
Naturally, before you commit to getting a CEREC crown, you will want to know how much you can expect to pay for it. The cost can vary from case to case based on each patient’s unique situation. Fortunately, our team will be able to provide you with an accurate estimate after completing a thorough examination of your mouth. Here’s a closer look at what you need to know when it comes to the financial aspect of CEREC crowns.
One of the key variables that can influence the overall cost of getting a CEREC crown is the complexity of your specific case. Depending on how severe the damage to the tooth is, additional treatments might be required, which can add to the overall amount you need to pay. For example, an infected tooth may call for a root canal treatment and need to be restored with a CEREC crown afterward.
The material used to create the crown matters as well. CEREC crowns are carefully milled out of a block of ceramic. Higher-quality ceramic tends to be more costly. A crown made from lower-quality ceramic might be cheaper, but it will also likely have a shorter lifespan.
Another factor that might need to be considered is the possible use of sedation dentistry. Some patients are particularly nervous about having any sort of dental work performed; sedation dentistry can go a long way toward helping them stay relaxed in the dental chair. If you choose to have sedation dentistry administered during your CEREC appointment, your selected sedation method will come with its own cost.
You can normally expect your dental insurance to provide the same level of coverage for CEREC crowns that it does for traditional crowns. Said coverage can vary depending on what plan you have, but it’s often around 50% due to dental crown placement usually being considered a major procedure. Remember that your annual maximum, your deductible, and other factors can all influence the amount that your insurance company ends up paying for a CEREC crown.
If you need help understanding your dental insurance plan, our team will gladly review your benefits with you. We accept most traditional insurance plans and can file the necessary claims on your behalf.
In order to help make paying for CEREC crowns and other services easier, we’re happy to offer our patients financing through CareCredit. There are many CareCredit plans to choose from that allow you to break up the cost of dental treatment into smaller installments that are just right for your budget. For more details about CareCredit and how you can apply for it, talk to our team.
Many dental procedures can take an exceptional amount of time, often occurring over the course of two or more appointments. Thanks to CEREC technology, though, we can create same-day crowns in Reno in just one visit. You won’t have to take nearly as much time out of your busy schedule to receive the care your smile needs to look and feel its best. To help you make an informed decision about your dental care, we’ve decided to answer some frequently asked questions about CEREC restorations down below.
Before preparing your tooth and placing the crown, we’ll almost certainly administer a local anesthetic. Your mouth should be numb throughout the whole process. However, your tooth may feel sore or sensitive for up to two weeks following the procedure. This is normal. To alleviate this discomfort, avoid consuming anything particularly hot or cold, and take over-the-counter pain medication as needed.
Your CEREC appointment shouldn’t last much longer than the average dental checkup and cleaning. In most cases, you’ll be in our office between an hour and a half and two hours. However, a good portion of this time involves waiting for the machine to craft your restoration. During this time, you are free to use electronics, read a book, or otherwise entertain yourself until the crown is ready.
Some patients worry that because CEREC crowns are made quickly, that they’re not as durable as traditional dental crowns in Reno. Fortunately, this is not true. CEREC crowns are often just as strong as their conventional counterparts, with the ability to last 5-10 years or even longer with excellent aftercare. Here are some tips to maximize the lifespan of your crown:
A CEREC crown can be used in most cases in which a conventional crown would be recommended. In general, a crown is designed to protect a tooth that has already been damaged, whether that be from decay, injury, or an internal treatment like root canal therapy. Ultimately, though, only your dentist in Reno can fully determine whether you’d make a good candidate for a CEREC crown.
