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We use the state-of-the-art CEREC® (CEramic REConstruction) 3D system to design and create high-quality durable all-porcelain dental crowns and bridges in our Chesapeake, VA, office. No more waiting 2 to 3 weeks for your permanent restoration to be made at the lab. When you walk into our office for a crown, you walk out shortly after with your new permanent crown.
Porcelain expands and contracts in the same way that teeth do, making your crown even more like a natural tooth.
Our CEREC crowns are milled out of a single block of body-friendly porcelain. That means there’s no core material, including metal.
CEREC porcelain is strong. With proper maintenance, it can last a long time, even for chewing-intensive back teeth.
In one visit, you walk out with a strong, permanent porcelain crown; no temporaries and no second appointment required.
We offer composite fillings to patients with permanently damaged areas of the tooth called cavities. These fillings are tooth-colored and do not affect the aesthetics of your smile. We can also replace silver (metal) fillings that you may already have.
If the damaged area of a tooth is too large for a filling, it may be necessary to place a crown instead. Unlike a filling, a crown completely covers the affected tooth and is bonded to the tooth with dental cement.
This treatment is necessary when a tooth becomes infected within the roots. Symptoms include painful toothache, sensitivity to hot or cold food and beverages, or grayish discoloration. During root canal therapy, the pulp of the tooth is cleaned out and the canal is disinfected and filled with a sealing material to ensure bacteria does not re-enter the area.
It’s rare having some type of genetic disorder that does cause soft teeth. The actual term for that is amelogenesis imperfecta. That’s when the enamel doesn’t form properly. In that case, that’s from childhood, you know, as soon as you get your first tooth and the prevalence of that is super, super low. It has other issues in the body as well, it’s not just the teeth. So, if you think you have it, you don’t. You don’t. Because if you think you have it, those that have it know they have it. The familial relationship of dad having dentures, mom having dentures, all that, all the research has really shown that it has to do with the mindset of what your home care is like. It also has to do with the type of bacteria that Mom and Dad had because that’s where you get your oral bacteria from. Actually, you get it from your mom, 100%. Because early on, who is the closest person you’re next to? Mom is spoon-feeding you, doing this. So all of your bacteria is from her. We know that testing - following the bacteria that causes cavities, genetically following it back to the mother. That being said, if you don’t take care of your teeth, if you don’t brush, if you don’t floss, if you don’t do the right things, you’re going to get decay. You’re going to get gum disease. Why some people get decay and no gum disease or vice versa, that’s due to the bacterial load, the type of bacteria, the ratio of those, pH of your saliva, which is basically diet. Yeah, there’s a whole lot of factors, a whole lot that I know that we don’t even know about. But how much genetics plays into it, I think people give it more credit than it’s due.
Well, I always like to take care of treatment sooner than later because decay and gum disease, which those are the two diseases I deal with, they only progress and get worse over time. Everybody’s different. I’ve seen decay go from very small to needing a root canal in six months. I’ve seen it go six years and still not need a root canal but still, you know, need a filling. So everybody’s different. It depends on what your saliva is like, kind of just your genetics to an extent, not as much as a lot of people might think, though. A big part - I think the main part - is home care, how things are taken care of. Now, if you have a car and you never wash it, it’s going to fall apart quicker than if you do take care of it. Or if you never take it to the mechanic it’s, you know, if you ignore all the bells and whistles, all the warning lights, things are going to start exploding and then you’re in deeper. But if you take care of it on a maintenance level, you avoid all those bells and dings and warning lights and all that expense of fixing whatever.
Our CEREC system gives Dr. Marks the ability to custom-design, mill and make any needed adjustments to your crown while you wait. Before that process begins however, you and Dr. Marks will choose the shade and shape of your new tooth.
An integral part of the art of the CEREC system is the Omnicam digital scanner. Simply by scanning your teeth, Dr. Marks can obtain an impression that’s both “powder and gunk-free.” The Omnicam scans precise 3D images of your teeth and gums in their natural color, which are then sent digitally a 3D software.
The design of your crown is done on the CEREC system by Dr. Marks. After choosing the shape and position to best match your other teeth, she makes certain that your crown will be properly aligned for a comfortable bite.
Starting with a block of high-quality porcelain, your crown will be custom-milled by Dr. Marks to closely match the properties of your natural teeth, she can make on-the-spot modifications to your crown’s size, shape and color right in the office. Because CEREC is an in-house system, this all takes place faster than it ever could using an off-site lab.
A dental bridge is an alternative for replacing one to two missing teeth and consists of one or two false teeth filling the missing spaces cemented to the already-crowned adjacent teeth. In one visit using the CEREC system, Dr. Marks can create a bridge for you.
If you’re considering a bridge, you may want to consider dental implants as an alternative for replacing one to two missing teeth. Using the CEREC system, Dr. Marks places a CEREC-created crown for the new tooth on top of the implant, a strong, long-lasting titanium screw which becomes your tooth root.
Bridges are a good alternative for those who want a faster option than an implant (a two to three-stage process including healing time for the dental implant). Dental implants, however, have become the international standard for tooth replacement and recommended by Dr. Marks whenever possible.
An inlay is a porcelain restoration that is placed between the cusps of a tooth. An onlay is a restoration that is fitted over the cusps of the tooth.
Choosing an inlay or an onlay can be a more conservative restoration than a crown, which requires cutting down the tooth. In damaged teeth that are too extensive for a filling to handle yet not enough for a crown, Dr. Marks uses an inlay or onlay.
Using CEREC technology, we can mill high quality porcelain onlays and inlays in one visit.
In one visit, you walk out with a strong, permanent porcelain crown; and that means no temporaries and no second appointment.
Our advanced CEREC system allows us to offer a range of restorations quickly and efficiently. Contact our office online or call us today to schedule an appointment.
