CEREC technology of machine crafting of crowns in the clinic and a CAD/CAM approach in dentistry (which means that all processes are controlled by a computer) are of immeasurable value in crafting of crowns that are placed on alive or devitalised teeth, but are most often applied in implant procedures, seeing that is when the largest of crowns is being made (when the whole jaw is prepared for implants).
Computer projecting of crowns speeds up the process of crafting significantly, so in practice a patient that has screws for implants installed can get all the crowns already tomorrow, while formerly the crown crafting was waited for a few days. This system of designing and crafting of crowns, unlike taking imprints by hand and manual crafting, ensures that the patients that passed through all unpleasant phases of preparation of jaw for implants and installation of screws doesn’t have to wait in social isolation for those several days, to come for several tests or to pay for temporary crowns. He gets the new crowns immediately and by that the process of implant installation is finalised in the best way. Besides that, the crowns will rest against on each other better, seeing that all measuring and crafting is computer guided. Even though there are no mistakes in practice during manual crafting of crowns, only the CAM/CAD approach (computer scanning – computer designing) and a CEREC way of crafting (complete ceramic restauration) are a guarantee that the crowns will be aligned precisely in micrometres.
All the crowns that are crafted in CEREC machine are 100% ceramic, without a metal core, which gives them far better physical characteristics and eliminates the possibility of crown cracking on the junction of metal and ceramic. Only the ceramic crowns have a full aesthetic effect because they can have absolutely any shape and they are exceptionally easy to be painted in a colour that the patient desires, and even the natural colour of the ceramic crowns is really pretty and most of the patients doesn’t feel the need to colour them in a different shade.
Beside these obvious advantages of computer crafted crowns compared to the old system, all the dentist that work with the CAM/CAD technology and a CEREC machine for crown crafting agree that a different advantage of this technology is the most important – and that is the way the crowns are installed. In the traditional approach cement must be used, which can, if coming in contact with gums, can cause inflammatory processes, and even to losing the bones around the implants. On the other hand, with machine crafted crowns there is no cementing, and the crowns are screwed in instead, and the firmness of binding is incredibly good, and any eventual repair is far easier because the crown can be unscrewed (for instance, if it’s damaged), than get repaired and put back in its place.
Dental practice Cvejanović possesses the complete equipment for CAD/CAM dentistry, including scanning, modelling, software for bone and jaw muscles analysis, and a machine for crafting of ceramic crowns. Even though this is state of the art technology, our prices for implant and crowns on implants installation have remained unchanged, so there is no more the dilemma for the patients which dentist to choose. That’s because if you compare a dental practice that uses computer technology in every step, and a dental practice where everything is done manually, with the fact that the prices are the same – a well-informed patient (anyone who read this short article) will always, for his own good and comfort, choose the dentist that uses the CAM/CAD method.
