As CEREC dentists, we need to be open about changing our preparation style to be more CEREC-friendly. Now, what exactly does that mean?

There are many of us who have been practicing for a long time. We have honed our skills and now suddenly we feel like we have been doing something wrong. That is not the case at all. We need to give the machine a preparation that allows for the mill to fabricate a restoration which will easily fit, and one that has a minimal amount of overmilling.

This means that we need free-flowing, properly reduced, super-smooth preparations free of undercuts and tight corners. That’s basically it. Now, since we are not worrying about the patient wearing a temp for a week or two, we can prep with a minimum of retentive elements to help conserve tooth structure. We now can rely more on the bonding complex to keep the restoration in place. That certainly is something that can take some getting used to when we first do it.

Recently there has been a great discussion on the cerecdoctors.com discussion boards about this topic and how it applies to teeth with visible fractures present. It’s an interesting discussion which seems to have no consensus of opinion. It’s thought-provoking and is highlighted with research on the topic. Read it here http://www.cerecdoctors.com/discussion-boards/view/id/8732.