If you asked my wife about her memories of me going through dental school, there is one story she is sure to bring up. One Sunday afternoon she watched as I completed the steps of turning a wax crown into gold. Unfortunately something went wrong and my one hour project turned into a nightmare scenario in which I had to start all over. We didn’t leave the school until 10:00 that night. I learned from my mistakes, and yes, at one time, I was somewhat proficient at making a wax replica of a tooth, investing it in plaster, burning out the wax and spinning gold into the empty space. I have to admit that I was very proud of my ‘creation,’ especially when I could see my reflection in the polished gold.
It brings me great relief to admit that I no longer spend my Sunday afternoons making gold crowns for my sweet patients. No longer do I rely upon my ability to make something out of wax and then cast it in gold. Welcome to the world of 3D printing. Now, in most cases, instead of making a model of the tooth needing a crown, my assistant scans the prepped tooth with a camera. The adjacent and opposing teeth are also captured and a perfect ‘model’ of my patient’s teeth are visible on the computer. Next, my highly trained assistant magnifies and manipulates the model, telling the computer exactly how the tooth needs to be restored and where the crown should fit. Once the tooth has been properly designed to fit my patient’s mouth, we simply press the PRINT button, so to speak. A machine is then loaded with a block of porcelain and two diamond drill bits follow the digital directions laid out by my assistant….and, voila, a beautiful all ceramic crown is born.
This entire process, from start to finish, usually takes us about two and half hours. My patients have been so relieved to not have to wear a temporary, or be burdened with a temporary coming off. Even when a root canal is also performed for the tooth, this technique can be used. Each patient has been impressed with the realistic qualities of an all ceramic crown. I have been ecstatic to see how well a computer made crown fits when compared to a man made crown.
Its sad but true, the good old days of casting gold crowns has likely come to an end. No one has been more relieved than me to avoid making teeth out of wax and casting them in gold. I can also assure you that my wife no longer worries that a quick trip to the office will turn into a six hour project in which I have to somehow work with wax and gold to restore a tooth.
If you are interested in this service, please call or email my office and we will answer any of your questions.
Pictured below is a screen shot from our E4D computer: The blue images are the teeth currently in design. Once the crowns are ‘printed,’ we stain the porcelain to create a life like tooth. All of this is usually done in one day at my office in Hillsboro. The second picture shows a completed crown for a patient at my office.
Please call us at (254) 582-9555 or fill out the form below to request an appointment.