Dental crowns continue to be one of the best restorative services in modern dentistry.

With CEREC dental crowns, you can start enjoying those benefits even sooner.

And if you live or work near our dentist office in Jeffersonville, IN, then you can visit us to get a CEREC crown during a single visit to our office.

This isn’t how dental crowns used to be, and CEREC is not available at every dentist office. We’ll explain how CEREC is different, and why that’s important for our patients at Kirchner Dental.

You can call 812-913-6093 or use our online form if you have questions about CEREC or if you want to schedule an appointment with us.

Getting A CEREC Dental Crown

Dental crowns have a come a long way. Modern materials make them feel, function, and look just like natural teeth.

And CEREC technology allows you to get your permanent crown faster than ever before.

Let’s say you have a cracked tooth. You were at home binge-watching one of our favorite television shows and eating some snacks. Then you bit into an unpopped kernel of popcorn.

You call Kirchner Dental to make an appointment the next morning just to be sure.

When Dr. Kirchner examines your tooth, he notices a crack. You discuss your options, and you decide to get a dental crown to repair it.

After making sure you are numb, he carefully reshapes your tooth to remove the cracked section and to create an abutment for your dental crown.

Meanwhile, our in-office milling machine is turning a ceramic cube into your dental crown. In a matter of a few hours and a single visit to our office, your smile can look as good as new and you can avoid any additional pain as a result of your cracked tooth.

That may seem simple, but that’s not how all dental crowns are.

Getting Another Kind Of Dental Crown

Before CEREC technology, the process of getting a dental crown was a little more involved.

Let’s use the same scenario as before. Someone is eating popcorn and watching TV. This person bites into the unpopped kernel and makes a dental appointment for the following morning.

The dentist finds a crack and recommends a dental crown. So far, so good, right?

After taking an impression of the tooth, this is where things become different. Rather than plugging that information into a machine in the office, this dentist has to send it to a lab.

It could be a week or more before the dental crown is ready and shipped to the dentist’s office.

That means the dentist does not have a permanent crown to bond in place after the tooth has been reshaped to remove the crack and create a support.

This patient leaves that first appointment with a temporary crown. This won’t be as sturdy or as secure as the permanent crown, so this patient will need to be careful about eating for the time being.

When the permanent crown is ready, the patient will make another visit to the dentist’s office. Hopefully the dental crown will fit so it doesn’t have to be shipped back to the lab.

With CEREC, if your crown does not fit for some reason, we can correct it right here in our office. (That’s rarely an issue, however.)

The Many Uses Of Dental Crowns

So, why might you need a dental crown?

We gave one example earlier. Crowns can be used to repair cracked teeth.

Crowns also can be used to fix broken teeth and to repair teeth that have been damaged by decay. This may be part of your initial treatment for a cavity, or a crown may be a replacement for a dental filling.

To date, no one has developed a permanent dental filling. Each time they are replaced, the dentist may have to remove a little more of your tooth as part of the process. Eventually, it may be a better long-term option to get a crown instead.

Dental crowns also can be used for cosmetic reasons, such as changing misshapen or discolored teeth.

Gold, amalgam, and other materials have been used for a long time to make dental crowns. But today, we have durable ceramic materials that are more lifelike while retaining the function of those other materials.

And with CEREC, you can get those crowns in one day.

Call Us If You Could Use A Dental Crown

Dr. Kirchner and the team at our dentist office in Jeffersonville, IN, are ready to help you. If you could use a dental crown, get a CEREC crown from Kirchner Dental. Call 812-913-6093 or contact us online for an appointment.