Dr. Maley has been evaluating CEREC technology for 13 Years. Never an early adopter, he waits until the technology develops to the point that it’s reliable, better for the patient than his current process, and of course as affordable as possible. After attending a weekend training conference in Scottsdale, AZ in October, he became convinced the time has come for him to introduce single-visit-crown service for his patients. The benefits he sees include:
- Providing patients in a single visit what used to take two weeks, two visits, two numbing shots.
- ”I had a teacher in yesterday. Do you know how hard it is for a teacher to get time to visit the dentist? She was surprised and grateful for the chance to walk out that day with a new crown.”
- Ability to preserve more tooth structure. “My crown preparations allow me to keep more of what Mother Nature has provided, and that’s the strongest tooth structure there is.”
- No more gagging on impression material. The CAD/CAM takes thousands of tiny pictures of the tooth site, the upper and lower jaw, and the bite registration and then stitches them together to allow us to design the crown. The patient can see their crown site and entire mouth in three-dimensions as we work.
- Reenergizing the team. “We’ve brought more artistry into the process. We are creating these with our own tools and can refine the color, shape and feel with the patient right in our office.”
Dr. Maley and his assistants, Stef and Lynda, have been through extensive training throughout November learning to use the CAD/CAM, the milling machine, staining, glazing and smoothing the crowns, and using the oven cure the materials. This is the first week they’ve begun offering patients the one-day-visit crown.
“We are still learning and adjusting our processes. Every day we discover more exciting things we can do for our patients.”
What do patients think?
“I’ve had several crowns done before and this process is much improved. Using the camera instead of impressioning material was much easier for me because I have a strong gag reflex. And getting it done in one day not only saved me time, but I didn’t have to worry about chewing carefully for a week or two while I waited for my permanent crown.” Keith, Inver Grove Heights, MN
