by Dr Anthony Le, Definitive Dental, Manuka, ACT
We were early adopters of the CEREC Bluecam system and have been using it for about seven years. CEREC was such an exponential improvement over previous techniques that I have not looked back since acquiring the equipment.
What’s good about it?
Patients love the convenience of CEREC—they can be fitted with a crown in one visit. I love the fact that it’s extremely accurate so no more sending lab work back for remakes.
We have a milling unit and a furnace allowing us to stain and glaze emax units to achieve a superior finish. If you use CEREC without the furnace, you’re limited with the materials available. Simply polishing a porcelain unit will never achieve the high quality result of properly glazed porcelain.
The Bluecam technology has been superceded, so I’ve investigated the CEREC Omnicam. The immediate improvement is that the Omnicam is easier to use and doesn’t require the use of contrast powder. However, it is no more accurate and the milling units are still exactly the same. Not using the powder might save an extra 10 seconds, but the quality of the scan is virtually identical.
What’s not so good?
The only downside is the time it takes to do multiple teeth. More than three teeth means the patient is going to spend half the day in the chair. For large cases we take an impression and send it off to be made in the lab.
For cosmetic cases involving front teeth, it can be difficult to colour-match against the adjacent teeth. There are many different-coloured blocks available, but it can be difficult to have all available shades of blocks on hand. In more cosmetically difficult cases, I think a better result is achieved with a technician and a lab, rather than milling a porcelain block.
Where did you get it?
Sirona (www.sirona.com.au).
I agree with much of what Dr.Le stated in his article. We too are an early adopter of the blucam and found it suits all our needs. For those using emax obviously a furnace is a must… Nothing beats the finish of a glazed porcelain surface… How ever I would just like to add that we have ventured into the aesthetic zone . Darker shades are easier to match particularly if there is tooth characterisation to add. We take a high resolution digital photograph of the surrounding teeth and have it next to us as we copy those details onto the crown or veneer being glazed.
In the case of multiple posterior restorations we do our preps , image acquisition ,then temporise and dismiss the patient. The restorations are then designed,milled and glazed with the patient returning within 48 hours…saves taking an impression and lab cost….. Gotta love Cerec