CEREC/CADCAM Inlay/Onlay/Overlay
A cerec porcelain restoration is the best method for replacing lost or damaged tooth structure. A porcelain filling is stronger than a resin composite filling and there is no shrinking of the filling upon placement. This leads to a better marginal seal and less chance of leakage and secondary decay in the future.
The process starts by removing all the decayed tooth structure and preparing the cavity with a high speed bur. Next, we use the camera of the cerec unit to take photos of our preparation and the surrounding teeth. We also take photos of the opposing teeth and from the side while the patient bites in centric occlusion.
The photos are compiled on the cerec computer and we can now design your custom cerec porcelain inlay.
Once the design is complete, the computer sends the design to our milling unit in our laboratory via radio waves. The correct high quality porcelain block is selected, using the colour of your adjacent teeth as a guide.
The porcelain block is placed in the milling unit which mills your custom porcelain inlay/onlay while you are having a coffee in our waiting area. This can take anything from 8 to 15 minutes.
Once the milling is complete, we will polish and finish the filling, before we fit it in the cavity. We check for any occlusal interference and tight contacts.
If correct, the filling is ready for permanent cementation. The fitting surface of the filling is etched with hydrofluoric acid for 30 seconds, rinsed and treated with silane to activate the porcelain molecules.
A self-etching resin cement is placed inside the cavity, followed by placement of the restoration. Any excess cement is removed.
Once the filling is seated, we light cure the filling to harden the cement and your new porcelain inlay/onlay is now complete.
Due to the use of a self-etching resin cement, these fillings tend to be sensitive after placement. Again, the sensitivity will settle within 2 weeks.
For more information about CEREC Dentistry, please get in touch.