CEREC, which means Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, or CEramic REConstruction, is a product that employs CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) technology in making indirect ceramic restorations and zirconia framework for crowns and bridges. This product allows the dental practitioner to design and make veneers, inlays, crowns and bridges with high value of aesthetics in just one appointment, unlike the usual two-visit indirect restorations.
The conventional method when restoring teeth with indirect restorations such as veneers, inlays, crowns and bridges requires multiple visits. First, the dentist has to reduce the tooth/teeth to accommodate the restoration, take a rubber impression and a bite registration and then make an interim restoration as he/she sends the cast to the laboratory for fabrication. The laboratory usually sends back the cast and the finished restoration/s after 3-5 days. Only in the second appointment will the fabricated restoration/s will be tried inside the mouth and then cemented. On the other hand, when CEREC is used by the dentist, the patient may wait for the restoration/s milled by the machine on the same day, after the teeth were prepared and after a bite registration and a rubber impression of the tooth/teeth is/are taken. Taking a rubber impression may not be needed in some cases, which saves time and resources. In these instances, the prepared teeth will be dried and sprayed with a contrast spray so that the computer will be able to take an optical impression of the tooth. Optical impression is also done in cases where a rubber impression is made and a cast is employed. The dental cast is also sprayed on the cast. After taking an optical impression, the dental practitioner will then design the restoration in the computer. The size, shape and contour of the restoration are selected from a pre-designed template.
The computer is connected to a milling machine where a ceramic or zirconia block is placed and milled according to the specifications entered in the computer. The dental technician will then trim the milled ceramic or zirconia restoration. In all-ceramic restorations, the milled ceramic is then characterized using special tints to simulate the patient's adjacent natural teeth and then glazed. In restorations with zirconia framework, the milled and trimmed zirconia is sintered and the ceramic overlay is then made by hand by the dental technician. Restorations with zirconia framework need more than a single visit to the dentist since more procedures are to be done before the final restoration is fabricated.
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