Nobody loves the idea of a second trip to the dentist. You’re busy. Your schedule is packed. Taking time off work, arranging childcare, or just carving out another hour from your day isn’t easy. For decades, getting a dental crown meant exactly that: two appointments, two numbing shots, and a week or two of wearing a temporary crown that never quite felt right. You’d leave the office with a plastic placeholder, carefully avoid chewing on that side, and cross your fingers that the temporary wouldn’t pop off at dinner. Not anymore.
At Levesque Dentistry, we use CEREC technology to create and place your permanent crown in a single visit. No temporaries. No second numbing shot. And no waiting. Here’s how same-day crowns work and why they could make your life so much easier.
The Old Way: Two Visits, Lots of Waiting
The traditional crown process went like this: First your dentist numbs you, drills away the decay or damage, and takes a goopy impression of your tooth. That impression gets sent to a dental lab. You walk out with a temporary crown made of plastic or acrylic. Then you wait. One week. Maybe two. During that time, the lab fabricates your permanent crown from porcelain or ceramic.
They you come back. The temporary is removed. Your dentist checks the fit of the new crown, adjusts it, and cements it in place. It worked. But it was inconvenient. And those temporaries? They could chip, fall off, or trap food in ways that didn’t feel great.
The CEREC Way: One Visit, Done
CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. That’s a mouthful. What it really means is that we can design, create, and place your crown while you sit in our chair.
Here’s what that actually looks like:
- Digital scanning: Instead of goopy impressions, we use a small handheld scanner to take a 3D digital image of your tooth and the surrounding area. It’s fast, comfortable, and far more accurate than the old putty-like material. No gagging. No waiting for impressions to set.
- Computer design: That digital image goes into our software, where we design your new crown right on the screen. We can see exactly how it will look and fit before we even start milling it. If we need to make adjustments, we do it on the computer in seconds.
- Milling: The design is sent to our in-office milling machine. While you relax, the machine carves your crown out of a solid block of high-quality ceramic. It takes about 10 to 20 minutes.
- Placement: Once the crown is milled, we check the fit, make any tiny adjustments, and bond it permanently to your tooth. You could walk out the same day with your permanent crown in place.
Why This Matters for You
The benefits of same-day crowns go beyond convenience. Here’s what patients notice right away:
- No temporary crown worries: No worrying about it coming loose. No avoiding certain foods. And no coming back if it falls off.
- One numbing shot: You get numbed once. You stay numbed for the entire visit. No second injection days later.
- Less time off: One appointment. One hour or two. Then you’re done.
- Natural look and feel: Our CEREC same-day crowns are made from high-quality ceramic that matches your natural teeth. No metal underneath. No dark line at the gumline.
Is a Same-Day Crown Right for You?
If we recommend a crown, know that you have options. And at Levesque Dentistry, we’ve invested in the technology that makes the process faster and easier for you. We’ve been serving Nashua families for over 80 years. We honor that legacy by combining old-fashioned care with modern tools that work better for your busy life.
Curious whether a same-day crown could work for you? Give us a call. We’d love to walk you through the process, no goopy impressions required.