CEREC (Same-Day Crowns) is available at these locations:
A damaged tooth no longer has to mean weeks of waiting and a return trip. Using CEREC® technology at Aesthetic Dentistry, our doctors design, mill, and bond a custom ceramic crown during a single appointment that typically runs about one hour. That means no messy impressions, no temporary crowns to baby, and no second visit on your calendar. You arrive with a damaged tooth and walk out the same day with a permanent, natural-looking restoration.
Same-Day at a Glance
- Start to finish in about 1 hour, all in one appointment
- The temporary crown step is skipped entirely
- No goopy impression trays to bite into
- Tooth-colored ceramic that blends in naturally
- Backed by 20+ years of clinical research
What it is
A chairside CAD/CAM system we use to design and mill a custom ceramic restoration digitally, then finish it in a single visit.
Who it's for
Anyone who needs a crown, inlay, onlay, or veneer and would rather wrap up in one appointment than wear a temporary.
How we help
A digital scan stands in for messy impressions, then computer-aided design and milling produce a perfect-fit restoration in about an hour.
Two visits won't fit into your week, but you still need a crown? Ask us about CEREC same-day restorations.
What Makes CEREC® Possible
Three tools that once required an outside lab now live under one roof in our office: a digital camera, computer-aided design software, and a precision milling machine working as one integrated system. Together they make up CEREC, short for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics.
From Scan to Finished Crown
- Digital scan: our doctors capture a precise 3D image of the prepared tooth with a small camera, so goopy impression trays never come into it
- Computer design: That image loads on screen, where your restoration is designed digitally to fit your exact bite and tooth anatomy
- In-office milling: Working from a solid block of tooth-colored ceramic, our milling machine carves the restoration to those specifications
- Bonding: Once polished, the finished restoration is permanently bonded to your tooth before you leave, all within a single visit
Restorations CEREC Can Make
- Crowns: Full-coverage caps that rebuild teeth weakened by cracks, decay, or damage
- Inlays and onlays: A conservative middle ground when a tooth is too compromised for a filling yet sound enough to avoid a full crown
- Veneers: Thin ceramic shells that refine the appearance of front teeth
- Bridges: In select cases, single-tooth bridges can be designed with CEREC as well
Why Patients Choose CEREC®
Easier on Your Schedule
- Single visit: There's no follow-up appointment to book weeks down the road
- No temporary crown: You avoid the fragile, uncomfortable temporary that can break or fall off
- No impression trays: The messy, gag-inducing putty gives way to a quick digital scan
- Less chair time overall: Two longer appointments collapse into one efficient visit
Better for Your Teeth
- Conservative preparation: More of your natural tooth structure stays intact with a CEREC restoration
- Biocompatible ceramic: The metal-free ceramic resists plaque and sits comfortably against gum tissue
- Precise fit: Computer-aided design tightens accuracy at the margins, lowering the risk of gaps or decay
- Proven technology: Millions of successful restorations worldwide rest on over 20 years of clinical research
Designed, milled, and placed in about an hour, your permanent crown looks beautiful from day one. That's the CEREC difference.
What Happens During Your Appointment
Step by Step
- Evaluation: our doctors examine the tooth and confirm CEREC is the right option for your situation
- Preparation: After the area is numbed for your comfort, the damaged portion is cleared away and the tooth is shaped
- Digital scan: A quick 3D image of your tooth takes the place of traditional impressions
- Design and milling: While you wait, your restoration is designed on screen and milled right in our office (about 15–20 minutes)
- Bonding: The finished ceramic restoration is bonded permanently, and you head home with your final crown
Good to Know
- Plan on roughly 1 hour from start to finish
- Once the numbness fades, eating and drinking can resume as usual
- For durability, CEREC restorations hold up just like traditional lab-made crowns
- A few days of mild sensitivity after placement is perfectly normal
- Brush, floss, and keep your regular checkups; your CEREC crown is cared for just like a natural tooth
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. CEREC crowns are milled from solid blocks of high-quality dental ceramic that are exceptionally strong, and the material is engineered to stand up to the same daily forces of biting and chewing as a traditional crown. Being shaped from a single block, with no weak seams, is part of what gives them their strength.
This is backed by experience, not just theory. Over 20 years of clinical studies show CEREC same-day crowns matching traditional lab-fabricated crowns for longevity and function. With good oral hygiene and regular checkups, you can expect your CEREC crown to last many years, just as a conventional one would.
Most CEREC appointments run about one hour, from preparation through final bonding. That single visit covers everything traditional crowns spread across two: the digital scan that replaces messy impressions, the on-screen design of your restoration, the in-office milling, and the final placement.
While the milling machine shapes your crown, you simply wait comfortably in the chair, usually for around 15 to 20 minutes. There is no temporary crown to wear home and no second appointment to schedule weeks later, which is the whole appeal of same-day crowns with CEREC.
In most cases, yes. Because CEREC crowns meet the same clinical standards as lab-made crowns in both procedure and materials, dental insurance generally treats them the same way and covers them at the same level. To your plan, a crown is a crown, whether it is made in an outside lab or milled chairside.
Before any work begins, we confirm your benefits and walk you through a clear cost estimate, so there are no surprises with your same-day crown. For any portion your plan does not cover, our financing page lays out additional payment options to keep treatment affordable.
For most situations, CEREC is an excellent fit. Crowns, inlays, onlays, and veneers can all be designed and milled chairside, which covers the large majority of restorations patients need. For these, a same-day crown or restoration with CEREC is usually the more convenient route.
A handful of more complex cases are the exception. Very large bridges, teeth that need significant rebuilding before a restoration, or situations with particular cosmetic demands may still call for a traditional lab-fabricated restoration. At your visit, our doctors will weigh your specific tooth and recommend whether CEREC or a conventional approach will give you the best result.
What you end up with is essentially the same either way: a strong, natural-looking ceramic restoration that rebuilds the tooth. The difference is the path to get there. With a CEREC same-day crown, the restoration is designed and milled right in our office and bonded during a single visit.
A traditional crown takes a different route. After the tooth is prepared, an impression is sent to an outside dental lab, you wear a temporary crown in the meantime, and you return for a second appointment 2–3 weeks later to have the permanent crown placed. CEREC simply collapses that two-visit process into one, sparing you the temporary and the wait.
Yes, that is the whole point of CEREC. Because the crown is designed and milled right in our office, there is no temporary crown and no second visit weeks later. In a single appointment that usually runs about an hour, the tooth is prepared, scanned, and the finished ceramic crown is bonded in place before you leave.
The one thing to keep in mind is that some complex cases still call for a traditional lab-made restoration, so our doctors confirm CEREC is the right fit for your tooth at the start of the visit. When it is, you walk out the same day with a permanent, natural-looking crown rather than a placeholder.
One appointment, one crown, finished. That's the convenience of CEREC same-day dentistry.