Are CEREC Crowns Reliable?

I need to get my first crown. I’ve been doing some research and think I want to go the CEREC route. However, I need to be sure they’re reliable. I work in a field where my smile is important. I have a few friends that have crowns and they all have had problems with them falling out at one time or another. Most of them said it was the temps that fall, which is why I’m thinking a CEREC. However, one of my friends even has his regular crowns fall out. Plus, they don’t look that great. I do wonder if this has more to do with his dentist. He doesn’t have much money, so I’m not sure he’s going to the best dentist.

Ben H. – Ft. Worth, TX

Ben,

You’ve brought up a few important concepts. First, is bonding. The biggest factor in a crowns ability to say is it being designed to fit properly.  A well-designed dental crown will stay in without any bonding agent.  Of course, that wouldn’t hold if you were eating something sticky which could pull down from an unbonded tooth. However, once it’s bonded you should be able to eat what you want.

Yes, temporary crowns do have a tendency to fall out. That’s because they’re designed to be removed easily to make way for the permanent crown.

CEREC crowns are bonded in immediately, so you’ll not have to deal with a temporary crown. They’re also milled by a computer, which does sometimes increase the accuracy. Though, a traditional crown can be equally well made.

Your comment about your friend’s experience and a less expensive dentist is interesting. People sometimes mistake cheap dentistry for affordable dentistry. You can have an affordable dentist who still uses quality materials, but works to keep his prices lower in other ways. Or, maybe he or she has interest free payment plans. A cheap dentist, on the other hand, will advertise their low prices to draw people in, but uses cheaper materials to keep his profit margin up. Or, it could just be a matter of him not being a very skilled dentist.

As to the appearance of the crown, that also depends on the skill of the dentist. Some dentists are more artistic than others. I’d recommend asking to see before and after pictures of their work to get an idea what type of results they can deliver.

Also, because you mentioned appearance being important to your job, if you’re going to get your teeth whitened, do it before getting the crown made. You won’t be able to change the color of the crown once it’s done. So make sure your teeth are the color you want.

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