From Deseret News archives:
Dental procedure is an alternative to traditional crowns
Garon Larsen, a dentist at the Alpine Dental Clinic in Alpine, explains that teeth with large metal fillings often at some point must be crowned. Expansion and contraction has cracked the tooth or there's decay under the filling. But if too much of the tooth is gone, replacing the filling simply isn't going to work. Besides, that filling material contains mercury, which he figures may not be really healthy.
Repairing such a tooth has, most of the time, meant the need for at least two dental-office appointments, usually two or more weeks apart. One to have the tooth prepared for a crown and an impression taken so it can be sent to a lab to have the crown manufactured. The tooth is ground down to a peg so the crown can be bonded over it, like a stocking cap on a head, then a temporary cap placed on it to prevent pain until the permanent crown comes back from the lab.
Nielsen, however, is going to get all the work done in a single visit that takes close to an hour, thanks to an increasingly popular dental repair called CEREC, which can be used on a crown, a veneer or a filling.
With CEREC, the tooth is not ground to a nub for a crown to cover. Instead, as much of the tooth as possible is left intact. The filling is drilled out and a reflective powder is placed in the opening that's created so that it will reflect light. Then a tiny camera is placed in the mouth to take a three-dimensional photograph of the tooth, which is transmitted to a computer-aided design program on a computer. That picture is the process's equivalent of a dental impression.
It's not all automated. The dentist does some of the work of creating the design that will become an inlay or overlay.
"There are always a few adjustments, but not too much," Larsen notes as he moves the mouse to outline the section of tooth that's being replaced. The goal is to get it close enough to the neighboring tooth that floss will go through, but not food.
When the dentist is happy with the image, it's sent to a special machine where a small piece of tooth-colored (there are different shades to match teeth) and very strong ceramic is shaped precisely using a high-speed diamond burr and a disk mill. After a few minutes, the piece is complete.
Comments
- Shoppers 'experience' Black Friday 10:32 p.m.
- Ogden postmaster to retire 10:31 p.m.
- Comments sought on Bitter Creek 10:31 p.m.
- National news briefs 10:29 p.m.
- Cougars turn back Wildcats' 10:23 p.m.
- Hogle Zoo showcases honeybees 10:22 p.m.
- Birthdays for Saturday, Nov. 28 10:18 p.m.
- Brown to discuss assault 10:18 p.m.
- Ansel Adams print up for auction 10:17 p.m.
- Queen plans visit to Canada 10:16 p.m.
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
263 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
211 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
202 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
133 - Boys basketball rankings
127 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
112 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
108 - Letters: Trump card for believers
92 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
87
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....
MEM just beat POR at POR. The Blazer starters played big minutes the subs...
The Weber Cats got close...for a few minutes. But then Jackson Emery made...
I like to wish both BYU and Utah the best of luck in the rivarly...
Well, it was a valiant try. But you still got pounded by the Cougs in the end.
go cougs!!!
Living in the past | 4:11 p.m. Nov. 27, 2009 Utah might be dragging 2008...
What does hunderlated mean? I just did a search on google, and I think you...
Living in the past | 4:11 p.m. Nov. 27, 2009 gotta love how Utah fans keep...
in the infamous words of Gob Bluth, "I think I've made a huge mistake." Good...
is a figment of Al Gore's imagination.




You can be the first to comment on this story.