Digital Dentistry - The Latest in Dental Implant Technology

CEREC is a dental restoration product that allows a dental practitioner to produce an indirect ceramic dental restoration using a variety of computer assisted technologies, including 3D photography and CAD/CAM. With CEREC, teeth can be restored in a single sitting with the patient, rather than the multiple sittings required with earlier techniques. Additionally, with the latest software and hardware updates, crowns, veneers, onlays and inlays can be prepared, using different types of ceramic material.

CEREC sets the standard in computerized dentistry and delivers proven benefits in terms of clinical reliability. CEREC is a firmly established treatment procedure with a 25-year track record and an impressive success rate. After five years 95–97% of CEREC crowns are still intact. Inlays and onlays achieve a survival rate of 90–95% after ten years.

CEREC Biogeneric* revolutionizes occlusal surface design. It is the first restoration method which metrically analyzes the patient’s individual dentition status as the basis for computing the occlusal morphology. This patented scientific procedure is the passport to natural, made-to-measure restorations founded on precise metric principles. What is more this method is extremely simple. With a single mouse click the user is able to create crowns, veneers, inlays and onlays, as well as anatomically sized bridges with up to four units.

Automatic, CEREC Biogeneric occlusal surface creation is just one of the many features of the CEREC system. Others include patient-friendly digital impressions, user-friendly computer-aided design and the milling of all-ceramic restorations directly chairside.

There is a direct correlation between sophisticated technology and customer satisfaction. Just a few figures will prove this point. Over the past 20 years, more than 15 million CEREC restorations have been created and placed worldwide – to the complete satisfaction of patients and dentists. After five years, 95–97 percent of all CEREC crowns were still intact. The survival rate of inlays and onlays was 90–95 percent after ten years.

Today, a CEREC restoration is created and placed every few seconds somewhere in the world. Far from being an experimental technology, CEREC is a well-established and proven clinical procedure. Dentistry is in a state of continuous change.

The CEREC Process

First, your doctor will meet with you to discuss the details of the procedure. During the procedure, the doctor will apply a thin layer of reflective powder onto your tooth and will use a special camera to take a photo of your tooth. Using Computer Aided Design, the photo serves as a "map" to design your tooth's restoration. Then, CEREC will use a diamond bur and disk-work to create your restoration piece out of ceramic. Finally, the ceramic restoration is bonded to your tooth using state-of-the-art adhesive dentistry.

Learn more about CEREC on their web site at www.cereconline.com.