COSMETIC DENTISTRY

CEREC®
Oakland, CA

CEREC Oakland, CA | modern dental technology

The CEREC Dentist Difference

CEREC technology has revolutionized dental restorations with inlays and onlays, offering swift and precise solutions to restore damaged or decayed teeth. Utilizing state-of-the-art CEREC technology, our practice crafts same-day inlays and onlays from the most durable materials. Inlays fit precisely within the tooth’s surface, while onlays provide extended coverage, both tailored to address various levels of damage. These restorations are meticulously designed to harmonize flawlessly with your natural tooth color, ensuring a seamless blend of durability and aesthetic appeal.

As a leading CEREC dentist in Oakland, CA, our practice specializes in leveraging cutting-edge CEREC technology for efficient, same-day restorations. Our priority is preserving your natural tooth structure while providing robust and functional solutions. Opting for inlays or onlays using CEREC technology ensures that our patients experience fast, precise, and the highest quality dental solutions.

Contact Montclair Smile Design to book your CEREC fillings or CEREC crown appointment. Our doctor is very experienced in restoring teeth to their natural strength and beauty with CEREC – call us or request an appointment online today!

The CEREC Procedure

Step 1

Exam and Preparation for CEREC

First, our doctor examines the tooth and determines the appropriate treatment. It could be a simple filling, or a full crown, depending on how much healthy tooth structure is remaining and our doctor's clinical judgment. Next, they administer an anesthetic and prepares your tooth for the restoration, removing decayed and weakened tooth tissue. This preparation is just like he would do for many other restorative techniques.
Step 1
Step 2

Optical Impression

Then, our doctor takes an Optical Impression of the prepared tooth. Instead of filling a tray with impression "goop" that you must bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, he coats the tooth with a non-toxic, tasteless powder. A camera is then used to take a digital picture of your tooth. This whole Optical Impression process takes only a minute or two.
Step 2
Step 3

Fabrication and Placement with No Temporaries

Next, the CEREC machine helps our doctor create the restoration for your tooth. The CEREC 3D software takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen. They then design the restoration using the CEREC 3D computer program. Within a few minutes, our doctor clicks a button, and the restoration design data is sent to a separate milling machine in the office. A ceramic block that matches your tooth shade is placed in the milling machine, and in just 10-20 minutes, your all-ceramic, tooth-colored restoration is finished and ready to bond in place. Finally, our doctor tries the restoration in your mouth to ensure proper fit and bite. The restoration is then polished and bonded to the prepared tooth. Your tooth is restored with no "temporary" or return trip necessary. All of this is done in a single appointment!
Step 3

What is CEREC?

CEREC is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic:

  • Chairside: The technology is in the dental operatory and used while you are in the chair
  • Economical: The procedure is economical for both dentist and patient.
  • Restorations: The procedure restores your tooth to its natural beauty, function, and strength.
  • Esthetic: The restorations are metal-free and tooth-colored.
  • Ceramic: High-strength ceramics are used that are close in composition to your natural tooth structure.

CEREC is an advanced dental restorative system that allows your dentist to restore decayed teeth, place crowns, remove defective amalgam fillings, or place cosmetic veneers in just one appointment. This allows you to have the highest quality, most lifelike dental restorations in just one visit!

The CEREC Acquisition Unit

The CEREC Acquisition Unit is mobile and houses a medical-grade computer and the CEREC camera. Our doctor uses the camera to take a digital picture of your prepared tooth. This picture is used instead of traditional impressions, which means no more impression trays, goop, or gagging. The computer and CEREC 3D software converts the digital picture to a three-dimensional virtual model of your prepped tooth.

Our doctor then designs your restoration right on screen using the software while you wait (and watch!). This software can assist with designing any single tooth restoration, including: crowns, inlays (fillings), onlays (partial crowns), or veneers.

Once our doctor has designed your restoration (usually about 5 minutes), they click a button, and the design data is communicated via a wireless radio signal to the CEREC Milling Unit.

The CEREC Milling Unit

Our doctor or your dental assistant will select a ceramic block that matches the shade of the tooth being repaired and insert that block into the Milling Unit. The data from the Acquisition Unit is used to direct two diamond-coated burs to carve the block into the predetermined shape of the restoration. This process usually takes 8-18 minutes depending on the size and type of restoration. After the milling is finished, our CEREC dentist will polish the finished filling or crown and bond it into place.