If you have a chipped, broken, severely discolored or decayed tooth, a dental crown may be the best option for restoring and protecting your tooth. Dr. Rick, a North Scottsdale dentist specializing in cosmetic dentistry, may recommend using a porcelain crown to create an aesthetically pleasing appearance while:

• Preserving the functionality of damaged teeth
• Protecting a cracked tooth or a tooth that has undergone a root canal
• Restoring the functionality of a tooth with excessive decay

Porcelain Crowns

Porcelain crowns look like real teeth and can last up to 30 years. Unlike metal and other types of crowns, porcelain crowns leave no black marks on your gum line. An expert cosmetic dentist can choose just the right colors so that your crown will blend in perfectly with the adjacent teeth. And with today’s advanced technology, you now have the option of getting a CEREC porcelain crown in Scottsdale in just one visit to Dr. Rick Dentistry.

The Downsides of Traditional Porcelain Crowns

If you or someone you know ever needed a traditional porcelain crown, you may have not-so-pleasant memories of the procedure:

• Needing to make two appointments just to repair one tooth
• Clenching your teeth for several uncomfortable minutes into a gooey, sticky wad of clay to create a mold
• Having a temporary crown fitted and glued to the tooth for a couple of weeks while the mold is sent to a lab to make the permanent crown
• And the most feared memory – the temporary crown coming off and the pain of raw nerves exposed

The Benefits of CEREC One-Day Porcelain Crowns

Often referred to as “same-day crowns,” one-day crowns have become a popular alternative to the traditional two-appointment crown. CEREC uses the latest CAD/CAM technology to make this possible:

1. First, Dr. Rick uses a special camera to capture a digital image of the tooth.
2. Next, a computer creates a 3-D model from the digital image. You can watch the computer screen as Dr. Rick creates and perfects the crown, crafted from a porcelain block.
3. Then he custom-colors and shades the crown to match your existing teeth.
4. Finally, the crown is perfectly fitted over your tooth for a natural-looking smile.

Best of all, for most Scottsdale dentist patients, one-day crown appointments take under two hours!

Call our North Scottsdale, AZ, dental office to schedule an appointment and learn if the CEREC porcelain crown is a good option for you. With a CEREC one-hour porcelain crown created by Dr. Rick Dentistry, only your dentist will know it’s not the real tooth you see!