Calgary patient asks: Can I receive a smile makeover in a single visit?

Most patients have some imperfections that they would like to change in their smiles. Whether it is a turned tooth, stubborn discoloration, or wear and tear that has developed over several years, our friendly and highly-skilled team at Living Wellness Dental Northland offer single visit smile makeover treatment.

Keeping with our mission to help our patients to live well, we are pleased to have equipped our office with technologies that make this a possibility. We recognize that each patient’s time is a valuable commodities and we respect that by offering single-visit restorations using our CEREC computer-aided design and custom milling.

CEREC is an advanced dental software and machine that has made a significant impact on dentistry. Utilizing this protocol, we streamline the process of restoring tooth damage and also the process of bringing out the absolute best in a person’s smile.

Traditionally, a crown, inlay, onlay, or veneer is made in an off-site dental lab.. For this reason, the completion of most restorative and cosmetic work occurs over a few visits and just as many weeks. The tooth or teeth being treated must be reduced and prepared for restoration, at the onset of care. Impressions of the teeth are made to create a lifelike model of teeth and the arch. In the time that a patient must wait, the prepped teeth will most likely be more sensitive and will require a temporary restoration until the final one is returned from the lab.

The CEREC difference

CEREC goes through the same basic steps of crown or veneer-making as the traditional method. The difference is that the process is streamlined to allow almost-immediate completion of care. In our office, patients will have the tooth or teeth requiring treatment to be prepped as needed. After this preparation, a comfortable intraoral camera will capture 3-D images, or a virtual model of the teeth. The images captured by the CEREC equipment are processed in software that transfers the intricate details of tooth structures to the milling machine located in our office. In the matter of about an hour, the final restoration is carved from a solid block of ceramic that is color-matched to the patient’s enamel.