How does CEREC work?

Treatment with CEREC involves the following:

The dentist will prepare your tooth in the usual manner. This means using a small drill (called a ‘burr) to reshape the tooth so that it easily accommodates the crown.
Instead of making a wax mould of your teeth, the dentist will use a special camera to take an image of your teeth which is then uploaded to the design unit.
The design unit uses CAD/CAM software which enables the dentist to create a 3D model of your new tooth. This model will act as a blueprint for the restoration.
The dentist will then use his/her onsite milling machine which creates your new tooth from a block of high quality ceramic. There are many different types of ceramic and the dentist will choose the one that best matches your teeth.
Once the tooth is ready he or she may stain it so that its colour matches the rest of your teeth, before a final polish.
If you are both happy with it then your dentist will cement your new restoration securely in place.