I don’t mean to be short, but diagnosis can not be done over the internet. You should see a dentist to diagnose how much tooth is left and what your options are. You will need a full set of x-rays and a comprehensive exam. If you are near New York City, I would be happy to see you. If not the Academy of CAD/CAM Dentistry acadcamdent dot com is a good place to find dentists trained in CEREC technology. We have focused our practices on high technology and any member would be a place to start.

italian dentistry is better…nothing complicated

But is it biocompatible, with characteristics that nearly duplicate real tooth structure in hardness, wear resistence, color, translucency and expect it to last 20+ years. With CEREC Vita Porcelain, you can expect that, as well as the closest fit of the margins, now and in the future.

Hi Dr,

after all your detailed answers, I know that choice of material obviously counts dealing with aesthetics. When dealing with certain dentists, most of them offer just one type of all porcelain crown/inlay, whilst another has different porcelain crowns/inlays at different prices(from about 60% of the typical cost to about 110% such as empress, zirconia, etc.)

He claims that the cheaper ceramic is weaker, and that the more expensive types are stronger. However, most internet pages seem to suggest that ceramic is ceramic and that does not give any indication as to what type is stronger/weaker. Do you agree with this statement?What in your opinion, is the best brand for inlays?crowns?
Does brand/make give a big difference in colour match when dealing with small/medium inlays?

Thanks for your time!

There are indeed differences in ceramics. There are porcelains that vary in characteristics of appearance and adherence to various metals that are hand stacked and condensed by the dental lab technician. The price of these porcelain to metal crowns vary from low cost from China, Taiwan, etc to 5-7 times that cost for American/European labs with highly trained technician using the finest materials from certified dental materials suppliers and with associated high overhead of urban-based labs.

The all ceramic restorations are currently divided into all-porcelain (with many variations in formulae) to ceramic core (usually Zirconia based) with porcelain layered over it. In the all porcelain group are technician layered porcelains versus factory made porcelain blocks that are custom milled using computer aided design and manufactoring (CAD/CAM). The former group can have more individualization but is weaker as ther porcelain is not uniform and has voids which factory manufacture avoids

Thank you for the quick response. I’m unsure what you mean by adherence to various metals, though?

Also, many cerec websites claim that cerec material is superior to lab made ceramic-but since there are so many possibilities for cerec, doesn’t this mean we need to continually ask what material the dentist is using?

Also, you meantion that you are able to stain the cerec restorations.From what i’ve read,

this is normally quite a quick job- what are the aestethic advantages for your patients having lab made restorations over cerec?

Thanks, I actually posted another comment but it didn’t get through.

There are claims that cerec restorations are superior to lab made due to hardness,etc.

What are the disadvantages from a functionality point of view?

Because there are so many different materials that can be used with cerec, isn’t this statement just a little too general?

Also you can stain ,which is great-but what advantages do lab made restorations have over your cerec ones when you can stain them yourself?