Dental procedure is an alternative to traditional crowns

He's had only one CEREC restoration break. "That result came by something I did wrong. Once I understood what it was, I haven't had one break since then."

When he can, Larsen prefers CEREC, which costs about the same as a crown. The tooth will have 95 percent to 105 percent of its original strength, he says. It looks nice and never leaves the telltale silver line around the gums, something that's the norm with crowns because of the metal understructure. Because there's no metal involved, there's no risk of a metal sensitivity reaction. And it's expected to last at least as long as a traditional crown.

With a traditional crown, the impression is made of the gap left in-between teeth. The CEREC impression is of the tooth itself, so it looks just like the original.

Perhaps most important, it preserves as much natural, healthy enamel as possible, something that may be important later should a tooth require more work. Who knows, he says, what technology will come along during the CEREC restoration's lifespan? Once the natural healthy enamel is ground away, it can't be reclaimed.

"Awesome," says Nielsen, of American Fork, holding a mirror up to check out her improved tooth.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com