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Dr. Steven Lind, DMD
PH. 503-566-7000
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All-Porcelain Crowns
Most people think of porcelain as the little figurines in your grandmother's china cabinet that you were never allowed to touch because they were so fragile. It is commonly used as a metaphor for anything breakable that cannot be set right. But porcelain refers only to a ceramic that is translucent, and nowadays ceramics are very advanced, durable materials. They can be used for virtually anything: golf clubs, hammers, tank armor and armor-piercing shells, even dental crowns.
It may seem incongruous to compare dental crowns and tank armor, but the truth is that your teeth have it rough. Chewing can put up to 1000 pounds of force on your molars, and with the repetitions, it can be more than most materials can handle. However, advanced technology has now produced a porcelain that can withstand the forces of chewing.
The Beauty of Porcelain
Porcelain has long been used as a dental restoration because of its aesthetic properties. After all, our dental enamel is essentially an organic porcelain. For this reason, porcelains are unmatched as aesthetic restorations. A porcelain inlay or onlay can match not only the color, but the luster and translucence of your teeth, and now that same aesthetic benefit can be seen in porcelain crowns.
Unmatched Convenience(coming soon)
In addition to their functional and aesthetic properties, a new advance in dental technology makes all-porcelain crowns and other restorations exceedingly convenient. This technology is known as CEREC, an advanced CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design / Computer-Aided Manufacturing) system for manufacturing porcelain restorations in minutes. The process for making Cerec restorations consists of five steps:
- First, your teeth are coated with a highly reflective dust that allows the digital imaging system to take a visual impression of your prepared tooth, which takes only a couple minutes.
- Next, Dr. Lind will use the CEREC terminal to take the 3-D image of your teeth and design the restoration while you watch.
- Once the restoration is designed, the data is sent to a computer-controlled diamond milling machine, which mills the restoration from a color-matched block of porcelain in about 10 minutes.
- The restoration is tested in your mouth to ensure fit, and confirm color match.
- If the restoration is suitable, it is then polished and bonded to your prepared tooth.
The entire CEREC manufacturing process takes about an hour or less, meaning that you can come into the office, have your tooth prepared, imaged, and crowned all in a single appointment. No need for temporaries which can be functionally and aesthetically deficient, and no waiting two weeks before returning for another appointment, as may be required for other dental crowns.
If you want to learn more about the beauty, functionality, and convenience of all-porcelain restorations, please contact The Art of Smile Making today to set up a complimentary consultation.
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