Can the Color of a CEREC Crown be Changed?

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I had to get a dental crown on one of my front teeth. I decided to try one of those same day crowns. I think they are called CEREC. He bonded them in and I never really looked at them at the office. When I got home and looked in the mirror, I noticed that the new crown was much whiter than the rest of my teeth. I feel awkward about it because it makes the tooth look fake. Is there a way my dentist can change the color to match the other tooth? I don’t want to offend him, but I also don’t want a smile that doesn’t match. Do you have any advice for me?

Carol

Dear Carol,

Block of porcelain for a CEREC crown

I am usually pretty fair about the motives behind other dentists. However, I am curious as to why your dentist never showed you the crown before bonding it in or even before you left. Even when you get a haircut, your hairdresser allows you to see what the results look like. I fear your dentist knew that the teeth didn’t match and he didn’t want to admit it.

One of the problems with doing a CEREC crown on a front tooth is it needs an expert cosmetic dentist. CEREC crowns are milled from a single block of porcelain, whereas a lab will often use several different blocks of porcelain in order to match the different layers of opacity on a natural tooth. There is a way to mimic that with different stains and tints, but these have to be done before the crown is baked.

You have a couple of options here. Either way, the crown will have to be redone if you want it to match your other teeth. First, you can give your dentist another chance, but this time insist on him using a temporary try-in paste so you can see and approve it ahead of time BEFORE he uses the permanent bonding cement. Your other option is to just ask for a refund and go to a different dentist to have the work done.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

 

CEREC Crown is Bulky

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I recently had a crown break after 4 years. Obviously, I had to get it fixed and I wanted it done right away. My dentist doesn’t do same-day crowns, so I went to another dentist. I have had seven other crowns so I know what they should feel like. Maybe this is a CEREC thing. This one is way too bulky. It feels like I’ve got a wad of something stuck on a back tooth.  I am even biting my tongue with it. She’s filed it, but it still is a problem. Should I have her keep filing it?

Brandon

Dear Brandon,

Block of porcelain for a CEREC crown

 

It is not because it is a CEREC crown. These should actually fit better because they are milled more by a computer, which increases the precision. The problem you are facing here is the dentist. Don’t let her do any more grinding of your teeth. It really just needs to be replaced. Aside from being uncomfortable,  it can cause problems. Consistently biting your tongue can lead to a developing tumor.

Here is what I think happened. In most cases, the CEREC software is used when the tooth is already intact. It will scan the existing tooth to determine how to build the new one. Because you had already had a crown and it was broken, she didn’t have that. The software is able to be used to build one from scratch. However, she doesn’t seem to know how to do that. This crown needs to be reshaped. Don’t let her try to do this while it is cemented in your mouth. It is nearly impossible to do it correctly that way. For example, how will she shape the between your teeth?

What needs to happen is she needs to remove this one and make another one. I’ll be honest, I don’t think she is capable of doing this properly with the CEREC software. She doesn’t have the knowledge and skill with it yet. You need to ask her to do this the traditional way. I know it will take longer. You’re probably thinking you could have just stayed with your original dentist and gotten a traditional crown. While that is true, I will say, your crown that broke should have lasted MANY more years than it did, so I have little confidence in that dentist as well.

My advice, give this dentist a chance to get it right the traditional way. If she can’t, get a refund and find a better dentist who can.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Dentist Won’t Give Me a CEREC Crown on a Front Tooth

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I have to get a dental crown on a front tooth. My dentist has the CEREC machine but tells me he won’t use it for front teeth. I don’t understand that. Shouldn’t that be my choice? I’d really like to have it done in just one day.

Carol

Dear Carol,

porcelain block for CEREC crwons

I think what your dentist is trying to tell you is that it will not look the way you want if you do it on a front tooth. CEREC crowns are milled from a single block of porcelain. That means the crown will be uniform in color. If you look at your front teeth in the mirror, you will notice they are not uniform. The level of translucency changes as you go from the top to the bottom of the tooth.

More light hits your front teeth than others. This means all those subtle differences are more noticeable. If you want a beautiful front tooth, that matches the one next to it exactly, you will be better off letting your dentist do a traditional crown. These are made from several varieties of porcelain, which enables the dentist to shape it with all those varying changes in translucency.

Dental Crowns and Tooth Color

One other thing you need to be aware of is the permanency of color with dental crowns. While they can be made any color you’d like, the color is permanent. Your natural teeth may pick up stains, but the porcelain on your crowns is more stain resistant.
The color they are made is the color they’ll stay.

If you like the current color of your teeth, then no worries. You can move forward, confident you will be happy with the color your dental crown was made. However, if you are considering getting your teeth whitened, the time to do it is before you have your crown made.

If you decide to do teeth whitening later, your natural teeth will whiten, but the dental crown will not. The only way to get it to match your new color is to replace it. Having the whitening done ahead of time will save you money.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.