Aren't there any dental offices that actually make the porcelain crowns right on!
Question:
Aren't there any dental offices that actually make the porcelain crowns right on the premises?
It sucks because you have to wait so long for the lab to make them, then if they aren't right they have to be sent back to the lab forcing you to wear temporaries for another two weeks. It is such a long process. I have to have my two front ones done and wearing temporaries for a month is torture, I've done it before.
Answers:
Yes, some dentists have the CEREC setup by Sirona. CEREC is a computer-controlled porcelain milling system that can cut a porcelain crown out of a block using a 3-D milling machine while you wait. (Takes about 20 minutes to mill a complete crown). A dentist would scan the tooth he shaved down to receive a crown using the CEREC scanner, and the CEREC system will try to digitize the tooth shape from the scan and mill a crown to fit.
This technology is still in its maturing stages though, and takes quite a bit of tweaking to get it to work right. I suspect in another decade or so it should be mature enough that more dentists would equip their practices with it.
For tech-head patients who wants to know how the CEREC system works: http://www.cereconline.com/ecomaxl/index...