One Visit Crowns
A recent innovation available in the offices of some cosmetic dentists is the "Computer-assisted design-Computer-assisted manufacture" crown, or "CAD-CAM." The company that is foremost in this technology is Cerec. This crown is milled by a computer to fit your tooth precisely, thus eliminating the laboratory step in manufacturing the crown.

With Cerec's CAD-CAM technology, the crown is made by a computer while you wait, thus eliminating the second appointment and the temporary crown. These Cerec crowns are milled out of pure ceramic.

Cerec technology can also be used to manufacture porcelain fillings. There are some very skilled cosmetic dentists who are also able to create Cerec porcelain veneers. Doing these well requires an exceptional amount of skill. Remember that Cerec crowns are milled out of a single block of porcelain. This creates an esthetic problem because natural teeth have a gradation of color from the gumline to the biting edge. However, there are some cosmetic dentists who have developed the technology to create beautiful life-like porcelain restorations for front teeth with the Cerec system, with color gradations in the teeth and a beautiful polish.