Perhaps you have a root canal-treated tooth that needs strengthening, a broken or misshapen tooth, or one that’s been weakened by large cavities?  If this is the case you may need a dental crown –and this post is for you.

Like most scientific fields, dental technology and knowledge have advanced in the realm of dental crowns and the traditional approach is no longer the only choice.

Downtown Nanaimo Dental Group is proud to offer CEREC, also known as same-day or same-appointment dental crowns. The whole crown process is completed in one visit with no need for a temporary crown.

CEREC is a sophisticated computer-aided system for producing durable high-quality ceramic restorations. It is simple to use, fast and excellent for conserving the natural tooth. It is ideal for patients who want a solid ceramic, authentic tooth-coloured alternative to traditional crowns made of metal or gold – all completed in one visit.

If a CEREC crown is not right for your circumstances, dental crowns done by an aesthetically trained dentist are significantly more natural looking and shaped to fit your smile, preserve more of the original tooth structure, and the temporary crown used in the process is so natural looking and functional that many people would be happy to keep it.

To discover why both aesthetic and CEREC crowns look more natural, we have to explore why teeth look white in the first place.  In essence, light reflects off of the structure of a natural tooth, so it looks relatively bright. Traditional crowns however are made of metal and are covered with a porcelain material that makes them look white.  The metal inside the crown absorbs light rather than reflecting it, therefore making it less translucent and quite noticeably not a natural tooth.  The other related downside of the traditional porcelain fused to metal crown (PFM), is that sometimes the metal inner part of the crown near the gum-line will begin to show.  This dark line stands out sharply and is not aesthetically pleasing.

Aesthetic crowns and CEREC crowns are made from a solid block of ceramic, like a statue that’s carved from a solid piece of stone.  The way it reflects light mimics that of a natural tooth and therefore looks perfectly natural among your own teeth.  Metal showing along the gum line is not possible, as there is none used.

Another huge advantage of the aesthetic crown is the comfort of the process.  All crowns are made in a dental lab, so there is a waiting period between having the tooth prepared and the crown being fitted.  Traditional dentists use a temporary crown that is meant only to cover the tooth, and not so much to be functional or to look good.  In the aesthetic crown process, the opposite is the case.  Not only is the temporary crown shaped exactly as the real crown would be, it feels as good as the real thing.

Beyond appearance and comfort, the aesthetic crown has one more significant benefit.  Since the aesthetic crown is placed with adhesive rather than cement, less surface area of the original tooth needs to be in contact with the crown.  This means more of your healthy original tooth surface can be preserved.

Contact us today to book an appointment or visit our website for more information.

Downtown Nanaimo Dental Group is proud to serve your complete dental health needs in Nanaimo.  Our Nanaimo dentists believe in continuous learning to bring you the latest technology in dental medicine and our team of dental professionals aspire to the highest level of patient care.  At each visit to our office, we treat you with the respect, honesty and dignity that you deserve.