Start a Dental Crown and Bridge Making Dental Lab

  

(289). Start a Dental Crown and Bridge Making Dental Lab

Dental crowns, also known as "caps," preserve the functionality of damaged teeth. A dental crown may be used to protect a cracked tooth, restore functionality of a tooth with excessive decay or replace a pre-existing crown. The purpose of a dental crown is to encase a needy tooth with a custom-designed material. Dentists today have a variety of conservative treatment options through which to restore teeth. If possible, these options should be explored and discussed before selecting the full coverage crown. A crown is a type of dental restoration which completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant. Crowns are often needed when a large cavity threatens the ongoing health of a tooth.^[1]They are typically bonded to the tooth using a dental cement. Crowns can be made from many materials, which are usually fabricated using indirect methods. Crowns are often used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth. While inarguably beneficial to dental health, the procedure and materials can be relatively expensive.^[2]

The most common method of crowning a tooth involves using a dental impression of a prepared tooth by a dentist to fabricate the crown outside of the mouth. The crown can then be inserted at a subsequent dental appointment. Using this indirect method of tooth restoration allows use of strong restorative materials requiring time consuming fabrication methods requiring intense heat, such as casting metal or firing porcelain which would not be possible to complete inside the mouth. Because of the expansion properties, the relatively similar material costs, and the aesthetic benefits, many patients choose to have their crown fabricated with gold.^[3]

CEREC is a revolutionary system that enables us to design, fabricate and fit a new crown, veneer, onlay or inlay in a single visit, a procedure that would normally take at least two weeks, if not more!

Cerec uses the most advanced dental technology, including 3D imaging and CAD/CAM technology to create the crown. In layman’s terms, it is a computer-designed restoration for your tooth. The whole procedure takes between 1-3 hours and can be completed in one sitting.

Typically, a crown requires 2 appointments.  The first appointment includes preparing the tooth, taking the mold, and fitting a temporary crown.  During second appointment, the temporary crown is replaced with the permanent one.

With a Cerec crown, the whole procedure can be completed in just one appointment. We use 3D imaging technology to photograph the tooth and CAD/CAM technology to design the crown.  The 3D design is wirelessly transmitted to a milling machine that will carve the restoration out of ceramic block.

   

Crown Materials: Gold, Ceramic and Porcelain Crowns

The three predominant choices of restorative materials for the full coverage crowns are:

1. Porcelain-fused-to-metal
2. All-ceramic (all-porcelain)
3. Gold

The material selected is determined by the clinical demands at hand; esthetic demands, strength requirements, material durability and restorative space available.

     

Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal Crowns

Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns provide for a strong, durable and esthetic treatment option. One of the key factors for the esthetic and functional success of this type of crown is ensuring the preparation of the underlying tooth structure provides adequate space for the appropriate thickness of the material selected. Additionally, the artistic skill of the laboratory technologist creating the crown will determine its esthetic appeal. 

One consideration in the porcelain-fused-to-metal crown is that these crowns may tend to show the underlying metal or gold margin at the gum line as gums recede over time. Some patients opt for this type of crown, but replace the crown at a later date in order to maintain a higher esthetic benefit. Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns with an all porcelain collar can eliminate this vulnerability.

All-Ceramic Teeth Crowns

The predominant material choice for all-ceramic crowns today is either zirconia, or aluminous materials. They provide a metal-free esthetic option with a number of benefits.

By eliminating the need for the supportive metal core, an esthetic all-ceramic crown can be created with a reduced thickness of material. This makes them a more favorable treatment choice in areas with limited space. Additionally, the elimination of the metal core allows for light transmission through the porcelain for better optical, life-like properties and a higher level of esthetics.

All-ceramic materials continue to evolve in strength and durability, but caution should still be exercised for areas of the mouth requiring heavy function. Continuing research is exploring the significant vulnerabilities of the porcelain systems in such areas.

Gold Crowns

Although not as popular a treatment choice for esthetic reasons, gold crowns are still indicated in some instances. For example, patients with strong bites and those with parafunctional habits (such as grinding or clenching) might be better served with a gold crown. The traditional restorative material can provide stronger support to the remaining healthy tooth structure. Gold crowns offer a level of durability that is appropriate for teeth located in the back of the mouth (such as the molars), where they will not be highly visible. Gold crowns tend to offer greater longevity and require less preparation than porcelain and porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. When chewing, gold tends to be less abrasive to the opposing tooth than porcelain. This helps to prevent wearing of the teeth. 

Dental Bridge

  

Losing a tooth through an accident or injury or as a result of decay can be very traumatic. It can affect the way you look and the way you speak, as well as compromising your ability to chew. Furthermore, the gap left by the missing tooth can strain the teeth on either side causing them to lean into the gap, trapping food debris and causing further decay. Dental bridges, like implants and partial dentures, are used to replace missing teeth. There are several types of fixed dental bridges (cannot be removed), including conventional fixed bridges, cantilever bridges and resin-bonded bridges.

A dental bridge is a false tooth (called a pontic) that’s used to fill the gap. Unlike traditional removable dentures, a dental bridge is permanent as it’s anchored to the teeth at one, or both, sides using metal bands held in place by resin or cement. If well cared for, a dental bridge should last for 10 to 15 years.

Types of dental bridge 

There are three types of dental bridge: fixed, resin bonded, and cantilever. The type of bridge used will depend on the quality of the teeth on either side of the gap, as well as the position of the gap.

Fixed Bridges

With a fixed bridge, the false tooth, or pontic, is anchored to new crowns attached to the teeth either side of the gap. These crowns are usually made from porcelain with the new tooth made from either ceramic or porcelain. This forms a very strong bridge that can be used anywhere in the mouth.

Resin Bonded Bridges

Sometimes called Maryland Bonded, these bridges do not involve crowning the adjacent teeth, so are useful where these show little or no previous damage. The new tooth is generally made from plastic and is attached via metal bands bonded to the adjacent teeth using resin. This type of bridge is particularly suitable for front teeth where stress is minimal, and the bond can be made out of view behind the teeth.

Cantilever Bridges

These are used where there is a healthy tooth only on one side of the gap. The bridge is anchored to one or more teeth on just one side. As a result, this type of bridge is generally only suitable for low stress bridges such as front teeth.

How your bridge is fitted 

It will take at least two visits to your dentist to have a bridge fitted and adjusted correctly. On your first visit preparatory work will be done, such as making space for new crowns for a fixed bridge. Your dentist will then take a mould of your teeth from which your bridge will be made. On your next visit, your bridge will be fitted and adjusted to ensure a correct bite. It is unlikely your dentist will permanently fix your bridge until you’ve worn it for a few weeks and are both happy with the fit and feel. It will then be fixed permanently into place.

As new technology and materials science has evolved, computers are increasingly becoming a part of crown and bridge fabrication, such as in CAD/CAM Dentistry.

  

CAD-CAM modern computer technology certainly has become an integral part of our everyday life. Today, almost every profession uses the computer for providing countless opportunities for excellent quality and precise work 

CAD/CAM Dentistry (Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing in Dentistry) is an advanced area of dentistry that uses computer technology to help design and manufacture different types of dental restorations.  Many dentists now utilize this type of dentistry to produce accurate crowns, veneers, inlays/onlays, bridges, dental implant restorations and orthodontic appliances.

This technology represents a specific processing titanium, gold, zirconium, or any other material which is in the process of further deposits of high quality ceramics (porcelain). CAD-CAM is an acronym of dental Computer-Aided-Design/Computer-Aided-Manufacture. This technology can make crowns, bridges and veneers. The most CAD-CAM systems are: CEREC, PROCERA, LAVA, EVEREST and others.
There CAD-CAM systems after preparing teeth dentist takes the stamp that after the outpouring of dental technician in the laboratory based on scans and scans of the program making work. There is a CAD-CAM systems that after preparing teeth are not taken stamps, but the dentist scans ispreparirani tooth. The imported data directly into a computer, made some corrections if necessary and production process begins immediately in the office. Thanks to this, it is possible within two hours of patient prepaired teeth, make the porcelain rosary and it immediately cement.

CAD-CAM technology provides impressive precision made from the best quality, the best-known material (titanium, gold, zirconium, etc.) In the future, we expect great advances in this technology because the opportunities that are offered are really never-ending. 

The benefit of CAD/CAM technology is that it allows the practitioner the ability to produce esthetic, well-fitting prosthetic dental restorations on-site in a matter of hours.  The convenience of chairside CAD/CAM restoration differs from conventional dentistry in that the restoration can be placed in the same day, whereas conventional or dated techniques required temporaries to be placed for several weeks while an off-site dental laboratory produced the prosthesis.

CAD/CAM Process

The CAD/CAM technology is available for both dentists and dental labs, allowing qualified technicians the ability to design the restorations on a computer screen.  The program will display a 3-D image of the prepared tooth or teeth that is obtained by a digital image.  The program then sends the data to a milling chamber where the dental restoration is then carved out of a solid block of composite resin or porcelain.  The dentist will then check the restoration for size and fit and can then apply it to the damaged tooth.  The CAD/CAM technology allows the dentist to restore a tooth in as little as an hour, as opposed to several weeks using traditional methods.

Advantages of CAD/CAM Dentistry to Traditional Restorations

Because CAD/CAM dentistry can usually be done in-office, there is no need for multiple visits.  The restoration may be done in a single appointment, and negates the need for temporaries.  An all-ceramic bridge is an exception to this rule, and can take a second office visit as the bridge needs to be created in a laboratory.  If this is the case, then a temporary restoration would be necessary.

Studies have also shown that CAD/CAM restorations are stronger than those milled from more traditional materials and are therefore less likely to fracture.  The dental technologies available for restorations can be used to make crowns, veneers, inlays/onlays, and bridges.

CAD/CAM Dental Technologies

DATRON D5 - Dental Milling / Grinding Machine

The DATRON D5 is a high performance Milling / Grinding machine designed specifically and exclusively for the Dental Industry and has a very small space requirement.

The machine includes:

• rotary axis for 5-axis simultaneous machining
• Apple iPad for complete control operation
• 13-station tool changing unit with tool-length and tool-break sensors
• integrated 8-blank automation (optional)
• cooling system for spindle and drives
• minimum-quantity cooling lubrication system
• chip tray with adapter for our vacuum system

CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) by Sirona Dental, is a dental restoration technology that includes CAD/CAM and 3-D technologies.  The materials that CEREC uses to match your natural tooth structure are similar in composition and color to your original teeth.  This is beneficial not only for esthetic reasons but also because when hot food or cold drinks are consumed the restoration and tooth expand and contract at almost equal rates.  Additionally, the materials are chemically bonded to your tooth, so the dentist can save as much healthy tooth tissue as possible while providing you with a dental restoration that strengthens your tooth.

The restoration process with the CEREC device begins with a photograph and stores the image as a 3-D model.  Their proprietary software is then used to approximate the restoration shape using bigeneric comparisons to surrounding teeth.  The dentist then refines that model using the 3-D CAD software.  Once the design is complete, the data is sent to the milling unit which manufactures the actual restoration from a solid block of solid ceramic or composite block.  The dentist then bonds the restoration to the tooth using resin cement which bonds to both the tooth and the restoration for a look and fit that is natural and durable.

Crowns in One Hour, Can it Really be Done?

Crowns have been made to restore decayed and broken down teeth for over a hundred years. Gold crowns were the best for many years. Then people wanted a restoration that was the color of a tooth. A way was invented to make porcelain (glass) bond to metal. It was used for bath tubs, kitchen sinks and many other things as well. Dentistry applied the technology to making a crown for a tooth. It is called a porcelain fused to metal crown.

This crown can now be made to look like a tooth in shape and color and is quite strong. The metal needs to be strong and not flex. If it flexes, the porcelain will fracture off. Also, the metal is dark. It needs to be blocked out by opaque porcelain. Thin the color porcelain can be layer on to give the desired color. The problem is that unlike natural tooth enamel, a porcelain fuse to metal crown does not allow light to come through. This leaves a dark line at the gum line of the crown which is quite unattractive. New research has brought about strong enough porcelains to stand on their own with no metal involved. These all porcelain crowns transmit light through them and they look very natural. No dark gum line. No opaqued look.

However, all these crowns require at least two dental appointments to produce:

• First dental visit to prepare the tooth and take impressions. The impressions are then sent to the dental lab which is where they produce the crown. In the meantime, a temporary crown is placed for about two weeks.
• On the Second dental visit, the temporary crown is removed and the permanent crown is then cemented into place.

However, once again, technology has taken the crown process to the next level…

It’s called the CEREC!

The Cerec machine does this entire process in about an hour, saving you that second dental visit and hours of your time. First, the crown is made of 100% porcelain. It is cintered which means it is put under pressure and heat to make its qualities like that of enamal in hardness and wear.Second, There is no impressions to take and send to the lab. The Cerec crown is made with a CAD / CAM machine. CAD stands for Computer Assisted Design and CAM is for Computer Assisted Machine. With the Cerec an infrared photo is taken of the tooth and brought into the computer. In the computer the dentist now designs the crown. Next, a block of porcelain is placed in a milling machine. The dentist then sends the crown design to the milling machine. The Cerec milling machine then takes that block of porcelain and mills out the crown. The milling process takes about 10 to 15 minutes.Third, the porcelain crown is then removed from the mill. The dentist now cements the porcelain crown using a new generation of cements that bonds to the tooth and to the porcelain. This gives the new restoration additional strength. A good example is a thin piece of laminate is very weak and brittle on it’s own, but when bonded to wood it gains a great deal of strength.Cerec crowns are very natural looking, have a very precise fit, are durable and can be made in one dental visit in about one hour saving you hours of your time.

Cerec Crowns - Same Day!

Cerec Crowns are all-ceramic crowns that are tooth colored and can be completed in a single dental visit.

• Cerec Crowns Only Take One Visit!
• Cerec Means No Temporary Crown Necessary!
• Cerec Has New 3D Technology!
• Cerec is Fast, Convenient & Gets You Back to Your Day!

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Galileos 3D Imaging - No Glasses Required!

The Galileos 3D Imaging System is a game changer. Unlike traditional 2d imaging, 3D imaging allows our doctors to to move, flip, rotate the images to see every possible angle of your teeth. With 2d you may only see 2 canals in your tooth, but with Galileos 3D you can discover ALL canals saving you from multiple trips to the dentist, pain, and money!

• Galileos One Simple 3D Scan - Now That’s Easy!
• Galileos Means Improved Treatment! No More Guesswork!
• Galileos Offers Seamless Implant Intregration A+!
• Galileos is The Highest of Dental Imaging Standards!

Click Here to Launch Galileos 3D Video