Advancements in Cosmetic Dentistry

The computer has brought many changes to dentistry. The most significant change is in the area of lab fabricated restorations such as crowns, veneers, inlays and onlays (pieces of porcelain that replace only a portion of the tooth). If you have ever had any of these treatments, then you will be familiar with impressions, temporaries and waiting weeks for the lab to make your restoration. These restorations required multiple visits to the dentist, impressions of your teeth and a temporary restoration on your tooth until the lab fabricated restoration was ready. Now, there is a new technology, called CEREC (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics) that enables a dentist to create a final crown (or other restorations) right in the office, and you can leave with your new crown in one simple visit.

Dr. Deano Sakos of Westlake Hills Cosmetic Dentistry says CEREC has changed his practice. The machine essentially replaces the lab by milling custom restorations in the office. This allows you to have your treatment completed in only one appointment without impressions or temporaries. Your tooth or teeth are scanned into a computer with a camera. Then your crown is designed on the computer, milled out of a block of material and custom colored to match you surrounding teeth. These are metal free restorations, so you will never see the black line at the gum line that porcelain fused to metal crowns display. In addition to the advancement of CEREC, lithium disilicate is a durable new material that has replaced traditional gold crowns, inlays and onlays. This new material is just as durable, but will provide superior blending with surrounding teeth because the material is white and looks like a natural tooth, eliminating any dark lines. The combination of new materials available and an onsite crown-making machine enables the Austin cosmetic dentist to deliver quick, appealing results for patients.

The CEREC technology can also help restore dental implants. Because an implant is essentially a crown on top of a titanium abutment or post, the CEREC machine can restore this specific crown as well. If this implant is one of the front teeth, then Dr. Sakos recommends a white abutment made from zirconia (a white material) for superior blending and a natural appearance. His advice is, “treatment is a success when no one can tell work has been done.”

Dr. Sakos says the most important thing when it comes to choosing a cosmetic dentist in Austin is listening. He finds that with his patients, it is crucial to learn initially what they want their smile to look like and then guide them to achieve that. Many times patients do not initially know what they want, so Dr. Sakos helps facilitate this process through the use of prototypes and custom treatment plans. Since he is an experienced cosmetic dentist in the Austin area, he has many visual examples of previous work done, so patients can get a feel of what to expect from the treatment.

For information about cosmetic dental treatments in Austin, TX contact Dr. Sakos at Westlake Hills Cosmetic Dentistry.

Dr. Deano Sakos is the dentist of
Westlake Hills Cosmetic Dentistry
515 South Capital of Texas Highway Suite 220
Austin, TX 78746
Phone: 512-327-8645

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