At Winchester Dental, we are proud to offer our patients the convenience of dental crowns that we design, fabricate, and place within a single visit. In this interview, Dr. Gio Iuculano, DDS explains how we create same-day crowns.
Dr. Gio, tell us about same-day dental crowns. Can you really make and place customized crowns in a single visit?
Yes, we really can provide dental crowns in a day. We’re excited to have the latest technology in crown-making!
How does the same-day crown technology work?
Patients come in and we’ll prepare their tooth for the crown. First, we use a special camera to take pictures of their teeth and do a digital scan. The digital scan makes us a virtual 3D model. We use a computer to design the crown on this virtual model, and then we send the information to a milling machine, which we have right in the lab in our office. We place a little ceramic block in the machine, and that mills out the crown.
When the crown is ready, we try it in the patient’s mouth to make sure it looks good and fits properly. If there’s something about the fit we don’t like, we just go back to the computer, do some tiny changes, and mill a new block. Then we try the new crown and keep refining until we get the perfect fit.
Once we’re satisfied with the way the crown fits, we put it into an oven. It bakes at 800º Fahrenheit, and that crystallizes it—makes the crown rock hard. It comes out white—similar to the color of the patient’s teeth—and then we cement it.
How long does this procedure take compared to the traditional crown process?
Usually it takes about two hours from start to finish. Previously, this procedure required two and sometimes three visits of up to 1.5 hours each.
So the same-day crown process obviously saves time for patients. Are there any other benefits?
Yes, in addition to saving time—and the cost of additional visits—the same-day crown process means that patients only have to go through one numbing instead of a numbing during each of two or three visits.
That can be really important! Can every patient in need of crowns get them in a single visit?
We’re happy to save time and money for our crown patients, so whenever possible, we provide the same-day crown process. But occasionally, we’ll see someone whose case is more complex and requires additional time and visits. Every case is different—we advise each patient what is best for them. But we do find that our patients who have gone through the same-day crown process once really like it! They always request it again when they need additional crowns.