Same-Day CEREC Crowns: What One Visit Actually Looks Like
restorativedentistry
A step-by-step look at a single-visit CEREC crown appointment — scan, mill, fit — and why it replaces the old two-week, two-appointment routine.
Traditional crowns mean two visits, a temporary, and a lab turnaround. CEREC compresses that into a single appointment. Here's what actually happens in the chair.
The digital scan
Instead of a putty impression, a wand-sized camera captures a 3D model of the prepared tooth in a few minutes. No gag reflex, no retakes.
Designing the crown
On-screen, the crown is designed to match the opposing bite and the neighbouring teeth. Adjustments to contour and contact points happen before anything is manufactured.
Milling in the office
A ceramic block — colour-matched to the tooth — is loaded into an in-office mill. In roughly 10–15 minutes it's shaped into the final crown.
Try-in, polish, bond
The crown is tested for fit and bite, polished, and bonded in place the same visit. No temporary, no second numbing appointment two weeks later.
When same-day isn't the right choice
For front teeth that need layered translucency, a lab-made crown may still be preferable. We'll say so if that's the case rather than defaulting to the in-house option.
Full technical details are in our CEREC same-day crowns guide, and the broader tech stack lives on our dental technologies page.