Cerec CAD/CAM

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic) is a new state-of-the-art method that offers single-day reconstruction of tooth/teeth using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) technology.

With CEREC®’s CAD/CAM technology, dentists can perform complex restorations faster, more efficiently and sometimes more accurately, all in one single visit, in their dental office. CEREC can construct restorations like crowns, inlays, onlays, veneers, bridges and implant-supported restorations from high-strength ceramic. At German Dental & Neuromuscular Clinic, we use CEREC®’s CAD/CAM technology to offer our patients single visit treatments using digital impressions.

The Procedure is As Follows:

1. Tooth Preparation: The dentist prepares the area for the patient’s restoration by cleaning and removing all decay.
2. Intraoral Scanning: Using an optical scanner, the tooth preparation and surrounding teeth are digitally captured to create a 3D custom image.
3. Restoration Design: CEREC technology converts the image into a 3D Virtual model and the software creates the final restoration.

4. Milling: CEREC, with the help of a milling machine, takes the design and shapes the crown, veneer, inlay, onlay, or bridge from a single block of ceramic.

5. Sintering and Polishing: The restoration is stained to look more natural before being polished.
6. Cementation: The dentist permanently places the restoration in the patient’s mouth to complete the treatment.

The entire process could take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours, depending on the case. Despite that, CAD/CAM requires less time and effort than traditional laboratory methods.

Advantages of CAD/CAM in Dentistry

The use of CAD/CAM technology provides benefits not only for dental professionals but also for patients. Some of the significant advantages include:

  1. Single-Visit Treatments: With traditional laboratory methods, the dentist prepares the tooth and makes an impression which is sent to a lab, where the final restoration is created. With CAD/CAM technology, the dentist can complete all these steps in a single visit, in the dental clinic.
  2. Digital Impressions: Contrary to the traditional method, which requires the patient to place a tray with a thick, gooey material in their mouth and hold for two to five minutes until the material sets, digital impressions are ‘mess free’. A scanner is placed in the patient’s mouth and moved around the affected area to capture an accurate scanned image.
  3. Time Saving: Because CAD/CAM technology captures and displays the patient’s tooth/teeth and gums in a 3D image system on a computer screen, which is then sent to the lab, the dentist is able to work faster and get the perfect design of the digital dental restoration. It allows the production of restorations to speed up between 1 to 2 hours instead of 5 to 7 days, which is required in the conventional procedure.

4. Improves The Quality of Restoration: Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing allows to design and create a precise and accurate dental restoration.

5. Natural & Long-Lasting Restorations: CAD/CAM restorations do not contain metals that block x-rays, enabling dentists to easily keep track on potential decay that may be occurring beneath a full zirconia restoration, while conventional gold or PFM crowns block the radiation of the x-rays, which stop such evaluations from being possible over the course of time. Also full ceramic restorations give a more natural look to the tooth that is being restored.

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