The equipment,
and what it changes.

In the building

• CBCT scanner — a 3D x-ray of teeth, jaw and bone. It is what makes implant placement planned rather than judged, and it finds the shape of a root canal before the drill does.
• iTero intraoral scanner — a digital impression instead of a tray of putty. Faster, and it does not trigger a gag reflex.
• CEREC — a crown designed and milled in the building. One appointment instead of two, and no temporary crown to lose over a fortnight.
• Intraoral camera — a close-up photograph inside your mouth, on a screen you can see. It is the difference between being told a tooth is cracked and looking at the crack.
• Digital x-rays — less radiation than film, and the image is up before you have sat back.
• 3D printer — models, surgical guides and appliances made here rather than posted to a lab and back.

Being shown, not told

What it does not do

None of this makes a filling last longer than the tooth around it, and none of it removes the need to floss. Equipment shortens appointments, improves what a dentist can see before starting, and reduces the number of visits. It does not change what teeth need.

It also does not mean everything is scanned. An x-ray is taken when it will change a decision, not because the machine is there.

Same-day crowns, honestly

CEREC does most crowns in one visit. Not all of them: a tooth that needs the gum to settle first, or a crown where the shade has to be matched by a technician against neighbouring front teeth, is still better done over two appointments with a lab.

You will be told which one yours is at the appointment, not sold the faster option because the machine is in the room.