Your Complete Guide to CEREC
A special report by Dr Carol Somerville Roberts
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
In this Guide Everything you need to know about CEREC… • • • • •
The Alternatives The Advantages How the system works? Am I right for CEREC? How much does it cost?
Patients today, typically have less time to waste waiting around at the dentist. To have a conventional crown made, will often take 2 weeks while you have to walk around with a plastic 'temporary' while the laboratory makes your new tooth. Doing it this way means you have to endure 2 lots of needles and have to have that nasty gooey impression material in your mouth to take the mould. Ultimately it means you get a very high quality crown, but have to wait longer and take more time out of your busy schedule for 2 appointments. There is however an answer, using modern technology CEREC can give you that same high quality without all the drawbacks... cool huh? We know dentistry can be expensive. We also know things do not last forever. So the best advice is to restore your teeth for the long term, with the best materials available to avoid future re-treatments.
Alternatives to CEREC Please see the price section at the end of this guide for more details on how much each of these options is likely to cost. Mercury Amalgam Fillings Mercury fillings will last years and years which is why so many dentists still use them. The problems come when they fail (ignoring its toxic potential) Decay often leaks under the old filling and rarely cause tooth pain so damage continues undetected.
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
They can cause cracks to form as they expand and contract over time, so when a tooth breaks there is often not enough of the tooth left to fix! These filling are always made directly on to your tooth by the dentist while you sit in the chair. Just because millions of dental amalgam fillings are placed each year does not mean its safe! There is an assumption (like a massive experiment on the world's population) that because there are few reported side effects relative to the number of amalgam dental fillings placed it has to be safe! ? Allegedly 3% of the population are affected in some way. There is a lot of random information on amalgam removal, we cannot find a balanced approach as yet, and no major dental organisation provides specific protocols for removing it.(Is this because it would be admitting that Dental amalgam is a problem?) Using cooling water, high volume suction, and rubber dam are the basics. Although at Evolve we use air removal systems for patients and staff to further protect us all. It's no longer good enough to just be a practice that is amalgam free. So that is the background to dental amalgam... and I guess you get the picture about what our thoughts on the subject are! If your current dentist still uses mercury fillings, find out what alternatives to mercury fillings they offer. (Hint; if the cavity is small enough a good quality composite white filling may suffice. If it is a large cavity that has substantially weakened the remaining tooth, then a hard wearing ceramic or even gold inlay or crown maybe required. This will help maintain some of the strength within the tooth).
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
Before treatment for removing old mercury fillings, make sure your dentist uses rubber dam. This is the main barrier to stopping the amalgam sludge from going down your throat. It is standard practice to use suction 'to hoover up' the water, and high-speed drills should have a good cooling water spray to stop the tooth or the mercury filling from heating up. (Hint, teeth that get too hot smell terrible and smell of burning. You should not ever experience this as this could seriously damage the tooth).
White Composite
White composite fillings have a much shorter life expectancy. They will last years providing they are well placed and of a suitable size, but this is largely down to the dentists skill. On average they will last 2-5 years but can discolour much before this time. These filling are always made directly on to your tooth by the dentist while you sit in the chair.
Gold The gold standard is Gold! But its appearance is not great (unless you like that
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
kind of thing). They rarely fail unless there is something wrong with the underlying tooth. These filling are always made indirectly by a dental technician. Your dentist will need to take some impressions (that gooey stuff) and send them off to the lab. This typically takes anywhere up to 2 weeks to get back. In the mean time you will have a plastic temporary filling and will need to be careful about what you eat and drink until your gold one is returned.
Advantages of CEREC Ceramic restorations are nearly as good as gold from long term studies, providing strength and good looks. The restoration actually looks like it's a tooth. One of the great benefits of CAD-CAM computer technology for making these tooth looking restorations, is that they can be made in just one visit, which is a huge time saving benefit for you. CEREC also avoids a crude temporary tooth (which often falls off), gooey impression or further shots of anesthetic. So in summary that’s: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Highly tooth like Quicker, While-you-wait dentistry One visit and time saving No ugly plastic temporary No nasty impression ‘goo’ Less needles
Having CEREC in just one visit is one of the biggest advantages of this technique, it means you don't have to wait around while a dental laboratory makes your new ceramic filling - in the long run this can save you a great deal of time and money.
How the system works Cerec is the world's only single visit system for replacement of dental amalgam with dental ceramics. In just one single visit we can provide patients with permanent, all ceramic, tooth coloured crowns, inlays and veneers, and because Cerec really is just a one visit system this means fewer injections, less drilling, and less time out of
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
your hectic schedule for dental care. A Cerec tooth restoration isn't just convenient, it also healthy. Many years ago, dentist had few options to repair decayed or damaged teeth other than amalgam, gold, and other metals. With Cerec, we can use strong, tooth coloured ceramic materials to restore your teeth to their natural strength, beauty and function. When we make a CEREC for you we remove any diseased areas and/or amalgam, then we scan your tooth with a special camera - this camera digitises your tooth so that we get a 3D representation on our computer screen. The computer then uses complex algorithms to calculate what your tooth used to look like before the diseased areas were removed, it then designs a replacement for these areas. Once this design phase is completed, the computer sends the data to our milling machine where a series of diamond drills cut your new tooth out of an industrial quality ceramic block. Once this is finished we put a shine on your new tooth and fit it in your mouth... amazing!
The material used is the same as that used when a dental laboratory make your new tooth, except a dental laboratory will typically take around 2 weeks to make your new filling. CEREC overcomes this by using a solid block of ceramic (made from a mix of feldspar and quartz which is the basic constituent of granite, so it's really tough)
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
the blocks are industrially made so we can be 100% sure that they are of the finest quality with no human errors in them This is the process of having a CEREC crown Phase 1: We place a special rubber sheet (called a rubber dam) over your teeth to isolate them from the rest of your mouth to prevent you swallowing the amalgam residue. Mercury is at its most dangerous when it is vapourised, so when we remove them we use plenty of water to cool the amalgam and prevent vapourisation, plus any sludge, water and vapour are 'hoovered' up with a super efficient suction kit. Phase 2: Once this is done and we are happy that the amalgam is safely gone, we take a digital image of your tooth, this is then converted to a 3D image on our computer screen. Our advanced computer technology then designs your tooth again using complex algorithms to how it looked when it was originally formed as a child. Phase 2: Our Milling machine then cuts your new high strength filling from a solid block of industrial strength ceramic to make a permanent white filling... we then bond this in place using advanced dental 'glues'.
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
This is the CEREC design station and computer milling centre
Am I right for CEREC?
A recent national study has found that teeth are the number one facial feature that people would change. Three out of four of adults think that a nice smile is important to landing their dream job while 84% think that an attractive smile is important for meeting Mr or Ms Right.
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
An amazing 94% of those polled also said they are likely to notice a person's smile when they meet them for the first time, so having a nice smile is of real importance. So it's vital that you have a great smile for both work and home life. CEREC isn’t just convenient, it also healthy. Many years ago, dentist had few options to repair decayed or damaged teeth other than amalgam, gold, and other metals. With CEREC, we can use strong, tooth coloured ceramic materials to restore your teeth to their natural strength, beauty and function. These materials closely match the composition of natural tooth structure, this means that when you have hot or cold food and drink your restoration and tooth expand and contract at almost identical rates, reducing the chance of cracks - unlike amalgam fillings.
Self help check list
To help decide if CEREC at our practice is right for you please tick all the following that apply: □ I have old amalgams that I need replacing □ I want long lasting white fillings □ I do not have loads of time to wait between appointments □ I would like less impression 'goo' □ I would like fewer needles □ I would like my treatment completed in one visit This list is not definitive, but if you ticked any ONE of the questions above, then CEREC at our practice may be the right option for you.
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
How much does CEREC cost? Here is a price comparison with other ways of providing a permanent white filling: CEREC white filling CEREC crown Composite white filling
Amalgam filling
Solid Gold filling
Conventional Crown
Gold Crown
Price £475 £495 From £95 depending on size
Comments The most beautiful, natural and long lasting option A natural look, but may discolour or wear away after 2 years and need to be redone. Not available from Evolve Long lasting but unsightly. I for health reasons do not do amalgams in my practice due to mercury toxicity. This is only here for a comparison. From £475 The most long lasting option, but some patients prefer to have CEREC as they are more natural From £495 Long lasting and tooth coloured, but often have dark edges as the underlying metal shows through. From £475 The most long lasting option, but some patients prefer to have CEREC as they are more natural
You can see that CEREC overall is one of the best options, it provides a long lasting, natural filling that in all probability will not need to be redone for many years to come.
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
Register onto our Membership scheme, for just £15 each a month and as well as enjoying our new patient offers and savings, you’ll soon be benefiting from the very highest standards of quality dental care and cosmetic dentistry in our beautiful, state of the art practice.
Membership key BENEFITS include:•
FREE home tooth whitening or
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FREE child dental care
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2x detailed examinations per year
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Hygienist appointment every 6 months
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Up to 15% OFF treatment fees
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Out of hours emergency cover
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Preferential appointment times
Please do either call us, or register for an appointment online, I look forward to welcoming you to the practice soon, please give me a call today on 01275 842 550 to book your first appointment. Kindest regards, Dr Carol Somerville Roberts
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol
T 01275 842550 24 Harbour Road Portishead, Bristol