Active Aligners are known in the dental industry as clear aligner therapy, which are custom trays worn in sequence that move your teeth in stages. Think “invisible braces”. They work by gradually shifting teeth into their optimal position, making your teeth straighter.
This is achieved through wearing a series of aligners, each for 22 hours a day, 2 weeks at a time (one stage), which move the teeth up to 0.3mm per stage until their optimal alignment has been reached. Often Active Aligners are referred to as transparent braces, or clear braces, as they are made from transparent FDA Approved material. This means you will be able to wear them without people noticing.
1) Scan or impression: Come in and have a 3D scan or impression of your mouth done.
2) Align: Wear your Active Aligners for 22 hours a day until the end of your treatment.
3) Retain: At the end of your treatment, wear your retainers to maintain your straight new smile.
Depending on your medical aid : None, a portion, or the full amount may be claimed back for your Active Aligner therapy. Kindly contact your medical provider to see if you are covered for clear aligners.
The CEREC 3D System transforms dental care by allowing porcelain fillings, veneers, ceramic crowns, and metal-free bridges to be completed in just one visit. Traditionally, dental procedures required multiple steps, including taking impressions, placing temporary fillings, and waiting around 10 days for lab work to be completed before the final restoration could be placed. This conventional process involved multiple appointments, temporary solutions that could be inconvenient, and repeated injections for numbing the area.
With the CEREC system, the procedure is streamlined using advanced technology. A special camera captures an image of the prepared tooth, which is then transferred to a computer to design the restoration. Within 10 minutes, the restoration is milled from a porcelain block and immediately cemented in place. This approach eliminates the need for gag-inducing impressions, temporary fillings, third-party lab involvement, and lengthy turnaround times, making the dental experience quicker, more comfortable, and more efficient for patients.
When a dental filling replaces more than half of a tooth's structure, the strength of the filling material becomes crucial. Porcelain is often the preferred choice for its durability and long-term stability. Unlike traditional restorations, CEREC doesn’t rely heavily on mechanical retention, allowing us to preserve more of the natural tooth.
Partial crowns, such as half or 3/4 crowns, as well as inlays and onlays, often eliminate the need for full crowns. This approach has become the go-to treatment in many restorative cases today, offering a strong, conservative alternative to traditional crowns.
CEREC veneers allow for the design, production, and fitting of these delicate restorations in just one visit, making same-day smile makeovers a reality. By integrating smile design into the CEREC workflow, it is possible to achieve precisely what was envisioned and planned, turning your desired smile into a reality within hours. The tooth preparation for CEREC veneers is conservative, preserving as much of the natural tooth as possible and following biomimetic principles, thanks to advanced bonding techniques that don't rely heavily on mechanical retention.
Made entirely of porcelain, CEREC veneers offer high aesthetic value, mimicking the translucency of natural tooth enamel and allowing light to pass through for a natural appearance. The veneers can be customized with on-site tints and glazes applied in a high-tech furnace, ensuring the perfect color match with the rest of your smile. CEREC has elevated the standard for porcelain restorations, making it easy to correct imperfections like uneven teeth, adjust color, size, and shape, and create a beautiful smile—all in a single visit.
CEREC technology enables the creation of full metal-free porcelain crowns in a single appointment, significantly streamlining the process compared to conventional methods that required multiple steps and firings in a furnace. Using CAD CAM technology, CEREC designs are cut from prefabricated porcelain blocks, eliminating the dark gumline that often appears with traditional metal-porcelain crowns. The tooth preparation for CEREC crowns is also more conservative, preserving as much of the natural tooth as possible by using chemical bonding rather than relying on extensive mechanical retention. This approach ensures strong retention without unnecessary removal of healthy tooth structure, even for teeth that are broken down to flat surfaces.
CEREC crowns are highly aesthetic because they are made entirely of porcelain, allowing light to pass through in a way that mimics natural tooth enamel. The crowns can be further customized with on-site tints and glazes, ensuring a perfect match with the surrounding teeth. This customization is achieved using a special high-tech furnace, which incorporates the desired color directly into the porcelain, resulting in crowns that blend seamlessly with the rest of the smile.
While dental implants are often considered the ideal solution for replacing a missing tooth, dental bridges are a great alternative, especially when implants are not an option. With CEREC technology, we can now mill metal-free bridges, expanding the range of treatment options available to patients. This advanced method allows for the quick creation of highly aesthetic restorations that blend seamlessly with natural teeth.
Unlike conventional bridges, which are typically made of metal fused with porcelain, CEREC bridges are completely metal-free. This not only improves the overall appearance by eliminating the dark gumline that can occur with metal-based restorations but also provides a more natural and visually pleasing result. CEREC bridges offer a durable, attractive, and efficient option for those seeking to restore their smile in a single appointment.
With CEREC technology, porcelain veneers or crowns can transform your smile by changing the color, size, and shape of your teeth to correct misalignment or other imperfections—all in just one visit. Careful planning is done beforehand, where your new smile is designed to your satisfaction. Once the design is finalized, the entire process of preparing, designing, and fitting your new porcelain restorations can be completed in a single appointment, making smile makeovers faster and more convenient than ever.
A Mini Smile Makeover typically focuses on enhancing the front 4 to 6 teeth, adjusting their shape, length, and color to achieve a more youthful and aesthetically pleasing appearance. The smile design process allows you to preview and try out a prototype of your new smile, making adjustments until the perfect look is achieved. As we age, teeth naturally wear down, often appearing shorter and duller. By lengthening and brightening these teeth, a more youthful look is restored. To protect your new smile, wearing a night guard is essential, as it prevents further wear and damage, preserving your investment in your smile for years to come.