Crowns and Bridges: Materials

Depending on your best smile restoration procedure, there are a variety of options to choose from when consulting with your Boise dentist about restoring damaged teeth.

Traditionally dentists had no choice but to use metal fillings and crowns. A crown is used to cover or “cap” a damaged tooth. Materials used to cap teeth include gold and metal alloys, acrylic and ceramic. A bridge may be recommended if you’re missing one or more teeth. Bridges span the space where the teeth are missing, and are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space. As with crowns, bridges have often been made with the same materials. Until now…

Summit Dental now offers the breakthrough technology of the CEREC. CEREC crowns can restore stability to your mouth without compromising the health and beauty of your smile. The CEREC system allows your Boise dentist to fashion and produce an attractive, durable crown, inlay, or onlay in just one visit.

Unlike other materials, ceramic porcelain is often preferred because it’s strong, and much more attractive. Porcelain dental crowns not only provide a better natural color match than any other crown but are more suitable for people with metal allergies. Ceramic and porcelain crowns are the number one choice for the best smile restoration of your front teeth.

The CEREC machine used by Summit Dental generates high-quality dental restorations with the aid of 3D computer technology. By creating a 3D image of your tooth, the CEREC machine generates a model of your custom crown. During this procedure you can listen to music, relax, and wait while the CEREC unit mills the restoration. Your Boise dentist will then place the final crown before you leave the office.

Not every situation is right for an inlay or onlay, but your trusted Boise dentist will assess your problem and determine the best solution for you. By utilizing the CEREC machine, only one appointment is necessary to complete the restoration. During your visit, your tooth will be prepared by removing any tooth decay or filling and is cleaned. After that a digital impression is made. This image is converted into a 3D computerized model of your tooth, which is used as a guide to design your new restoration. Once your Boise dentist is happy with the newly designed tooth, this data is sent to an onsite milling machine, which fabricates your new tooth from a high-quality ceramic block. The CEREC machine then creates a custom inlay or onlay for you.