The chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramics (CEREC) approach to veneers and crowns offers patients a number of cosmetic dentistry benefits. This computer-aided design and manufacturing method results in beautiful, strong CEREC veneers that are available much faster than traditional porcelain veneers. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of CEREC over conventional dental veneers.
What Are Dental Veneers?
Dental veneers are thin shells of porcelain that are bonded to the front of your teeth. They are cosmetic and used to alter the appearance of your smile. They can be used to
- Change the size of small teeth that give you a gappy smile
- Make asymmetrical teeth symmetrical
- Lighten the colour of discoloured teeth that do not respond to teeth whitening treatments
- Change the shape of your teeth
- Cover the effects of damage or decay
Veneers are cosmetic, and while they can make your teeth a bit stronger, if you need to restore functionality to your tooth, you would be better served by a CEREC crown or cap.
What Are The Benefits Of Porcelain Veneers?
Porcelain dental veneers are strong and long-lasting. They are favoured over other materials like composite resin because, with good dental care, they may last for as long as 25 years. Because some tooth enamel needs to be removed every time veneers are done, it’s better for the health and longevity of your teeth to have one set for a longer time period, rather than needing to redo them every five or eight years.
Patients also tend to favour porcelain because of how easy it is to match it to your natural teeth colour, and because of the way that it reflects light. Porcelain is also much less susceptible to staining because it is not porous and does not hold onto stains and discolouration.
Some of the benefits include
- A quicker and more efficient process with fewer visits to your dentist
- A more accurate and better fitting design the first time
- A high-quality cosmetic solution that makes you feel confident about your smile
Why Are CEREC Veneers Different?
Traditionally when you visit your dentist to have dental veneers done, you need to make two or three trips. CEREC veneers can be completed in just one visit, leaving you with a natural-looking smile that you can display with confidence. First, your dentist needs to give you a check-up and professional clean, to make sure your mouth is free of plaque. Depending on the reasons why you want veneers, your dentist might also take a few x rays to ensure that the teeth to be covered are healthy and free of decay, even below the gum line.
With traditional veneers, your first visit to the dentist usually requires the removal of some dental enamel and impression-taking of your teeth. Approximately 1 mm of dental enamel will be removed, to make space for the new veneers. For traditional veneers, your dentist will use a sticky and messy substance to get the impression of your teeth. This is an uncomfortable and messy process, and it does open the door for error. If the wrong impression is taken, the process has to be redone from the beginning.
With CEREC veneers, your dentist takes a digital impression of your mouth that does not require any dental putty, and which is much more accurate than the traditional method. In a few minutes, your dentist can have a computer-guided impression of your teeth to model your porcelain veneers CEREC on.
With traditional dental veneers, the next step would be to send the impression to the laboratory to create the veneers, which could take a week or ten days to complete. With the CEREC system, your dentist can craft the veneers from the comfort and convenience of the practice, because the 3D design impression is transmitted to the computer software that makes the final veneers. This means you do not need to wait and makes a major difference to the turnaround because it means you won’t need to wear temporary veneers while you wait for your porcelain veneers to be created.
If you were having traditional veneers made, you would need to return to your dentist for your fitting but with CEREC this can be done on the same day. Often traditional veneers need to be adjusted for the perfect fit but because CEREC uses CAD technology in its design and manufacture, your veneers will fit perfectly the first time.
Your fitting goes much quicker with CEREC veneers because your dentist won’t have to remove the temporary veneers first. You do not have to worry about errors and discomfort either because technology makes sure your veneers are crafted perfectly for your mouth.
How Long Do Veneers Made From CEREC Take?
It usually only takes one to one and a half hours to complete veneers using the CEREC method, which is a major time saving if you were to compare it to two or three weeks for the traditional method.
To find out if you are a suitable candidate for CEREC veneers or more about cosmetic dentistry in general it’s always best to speak to a professional. Please contact us for an appointment:
Phone: (02) 9158 6213
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Phone: (02) 9158 6756
Illawong, NSW 2234
Phone: (02) 9159 6083
Sylvania Waters NSW 2224
