Does Every Elgin Dentist Take Two Weeks to Deliver a Crown?

I’ve been out of the loop for a while and finally made it in to see an Elgin dentist. I was told I needed a crown, which is no big surprise. I’ve always had great teeth and have never needed anything more than a small filling, but it has been a while. Anyway, they told me the process would take two weeks. I was shocked. They offered to put a rush on it for me, but they said their lab was going to charge an extra fee. What’s up with that? In the meantime, I’m supposed to wear some kind of temporary thing. I asked around at work and everyone tells me what a pain they are and how they fall off all the time. Does every Elgin dentist operate this way?

-Joe

Dear Joe,

There was a time when every dentist had to get crowns from a lab. The standard turnaround in the industry is two weeks because it’s an extensive process of baking porcelain, glazing, and more. Most of them can accommodate emergencies, but an express charge is also the norm.

Temporary crowns are, by their very nature, temporary. For obvious reasons, the Elgin dentist needs to be able to get the temporary crown back off easily within a short period of time. As such, they don’t need to be incredibly strong, and they’re seated with a temporary adhesive that the dentist can remove with ease later. Finding the right balance of longevity is tough, and some offices have a difficult time with it. Equally, some patients forget they’re wearing a temporary and eat something hard or sticky, so it’s not always easy to say why one failed. With all that said, they really don’t fail that often. Some offices have one patient every six months come back for a replacement, while others have it happen a whole lot more.

The good news is that temporary crowns, and a two-week, wait aren’t necessary most of the time anymore. Some offices employ CAD/CAM technology that scans the tooth and carves out a perfectly-fitting crown right in the office on the same day the tooth is prepared. The most well-known name in the industry is CEREC. However, there are many alternatives to CEREC crowns, including a newer variety called E-4D. While you’ll still have to wait for the machine to work its magic, you can read a couple chapters of a book or surf the web for a bit in the office while you wait. If this is something that interests you, search for an Elgin dentist who advertises CEREC crowns or “crowns in a day.”

This blog is sponsored byElgin dentist, Dr. Steve Sirin.