For today's clinical tip, the educators at CDOCS are focusing on CEREC and how you can get the most out of the technology in your practice.
Learn more about CDOCS and their range of learning opportunities for dentists and dental team members.
Video transcript
"Welcome to CDOCS.com, and today's tip of day is on how to do a proper CEREC preparation.
"Now I've taught CEREC workshops for many years and taught thousands of CEREC users, and I always go back to the same thing: Your prep is the most important aspect of your CEREC restoration.
"So there are three things that we typically want in a CEREC preparation that's different from maybe a traditional preparation, or maybe not so different. And we want those three things every single time. That's what's going to make for a successful restoration that's going to seat without adjustments, with your margins flush and a beautiful view on the x-ray. And those three things are, first, I want a very distinct separation, interproximally, from the adjacent teeth. The second thing that I want, I want glass-smooth margins. I want those margins to be polished like no other. You want them smooth, you want them flowing, I don't want any sharp angles. And then the third thing is, I want my internals rounded. I want those internals rounded so that there's no sharp corners or angles anywhere. If I can get these three things on a CEREC preparation, my restoration is going to be successful.
"Let's briefly talk about them. Distinct separation, which means I'm lowering the interproximal before below the height of contacts, below the contact area, and it allows me to create a nice emergence profile. Glass-smooth margins, because my machine is going to mill this restoration. Sometimes with a large bur, and if I have a very sharp transition, the bur can't reach and can't mill. Rounded internals, because I want that internal fit to be very good. I don't want overmilling. If I have a sharp little spike or a rough area on the preparation, the big bur that we're using to mill the internal of the restoration is going to mill around that, leaving large gaps and spaces, resulting in a poor fit.
"So glass-smooth margins, rounded internals, and distinct separation from the adjacent teeth. That's your tip of the day."
