Are CEREC Crowns Better than Lab-Created Crowns?

CEREC, same-day dentistry, is fast becoming a popular dental innovation that more and more oral health professionals are beginning to offer. CEREC offers many benefits for patients, include significantly reduced turn-around times for permanent treatment. But with CEREC taking the place of lab-created restorations for more and more dental offices, the question becomes, is the treatment you’re getting of the same quality as a lab might fabricate? Are there reasons to choose CEREC over lab-created crowns?

If you need a dental restoration and are considering visiting our CEREC dentist, take the following about your treatment into your decision:

Quality of Prosthetic – CEREC produces crowns made from all porcelain or zirconia, depending on your needs and availability of materials. A dental lab with skilled technicians can produce prosthetics with the same materials, however. Therefore, in terms of the quality of your restoration, CEREC crowns and lab created crowns administered by experienced dentists and/or lab technicians can both offer life-like imitations of real teeth and long-lasting results.

Treatment Planning – CEREC crowns are designed and milled from detailed, digital images of your smile. When your crown is ready to be applied, it will fit comfortably, according to the specifications recorded in-house. If you’re receiving a dental crown created with standard impression trays that is fabricated at a lab, there is some margin for error. Less-then-detailed impressions leave room for interpretation and while a qualified lab technician will employ their skill in creating the best restoration for your smile, these processes don’t necessarily produce the same precision in treatment planning.

Turn-Around Time – This is perhaps the most noteworthy reason to select CEREC same-day dental crowns over a lab-created prosthetic. Many patients who do not wish to wait or are in need of emergency care, prefer the same-day treatment time that CEREC is able to offer. Even if your dentist works with a speedy and efficient dental lab, chair-side design and milling is the only way to get a permanent restoration in one dental visit.

Consider What’s Important for You and Your Treatment Goals

CEREC one-visit crowns most advantageous offering is its ability to provide comfortable, customized, and permanent crowns without a two week wait or the use of temporary restorations. If you’d prefer to have your crown as soon as possible, CEREC could be the right choice for you. For more information about same-day crowns at our Encinitas dental office, contact Dr. Skeens and his team today.