High Technology Assists In Dental Restoration

By Author: Tampa Smile
Total Articles: 3
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A new tooth made to order in just one hour.

Is this possible?

With new technology, this has now become possible. If you go for a dental checkup, a skilled dentist who is equipped with Computer Aided Design (CAD) will create a crown while the patient waits.

The entire job is finished in less than an hour while you are relaxing in the dentist’s clinic lounge.

To make it clear, here are the steps involved in the CAD process:

• The affected area is numbed. The dentist drills to form a contour for the crown.
• The dentist uses a tiny camera and creates a three dimensional image of the shaped tooth.
• A software program builds an image of the tooth that will exactly look like the crown in place.
• All the structural details are transmitted to a machine in another room that mills the crown from porcelain.
• The ready crown is glued on the patient’s mouth.

Before you are excited about this hi-tech process, there are a few limitations you must know:

• The tooth must not be broken below the gum line because the scanning device will not be able ...
... to make an exacting 3-D image.
• Ceramic does not allow for an exact replica of the real tooth, unlike labs.
• More expensive than other types of fillings.
• The technique is sensitive, so if the dentist is not skilled, porcelain could chip.

However, the pros are compelling. Dentists say with Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics (CEREC), you will have teeth that have same hardness, same coefficient of expansion, and same translucency as that of the original teeth.

On this issue, various dentists have their own views. Some say even though CEREC makes great restorations, traditionally lab-made crowns may do better especially for the front teeth.

Even though single visit capability and computerized control of shape are great advantages, patients must consult dentists for the best option suiting to their teeth.

For most people, the power of one-visit is the overriding factor in favor of CEREC. The time required for subsequent visits, as in the traditional procedure, is saved, which is a great advantage for many who are hard pressed for time.

As per some dentists, CEREC technology is great for inlays and outlays, but has proved to be failures for crowns used for posterior teeth.

In any case, consulting the dentist is prudent because technological advances are so fast that you never know when innovative methods get introduced.

CEREC-equipped dentists, the world over, have performed 15,000,000 restorations since the company was founded in 1987. This in itself indicates the confidence people have in this procedure.

The future has more in store. Dental lasers for removing tartar are a distinct possibility. Air abrasion as an alternative to traditional drill and more refined bone replacement for people suffering from bone loss detection solution are some advances that may find more acceptances going ahead.

Anyone needing dental in Tampa FL can hope for safer, faster, and technologically advanced choices in the coming years.