You bite down on something harder than you expected: an ice cube, an unpopped popcorn kernel, maybe a stray nut in your trail mix. You feel a sharp jolt, then a rough edge where there used to be smooth tooth. Something fractured. If you’ve ever chipped or fractured a tooth, you know that sinking feeling. Suddenly, you worry about how it looks, whether it hurts, and how many trips to the dentist it will take to fix it. At Tahoe Dental Artistry, you might not need multiple appointments at all. Thanks to CEREC same-day crown technology, Dr. Baldwin could scan, design, and place your new crown in a single visit. Let’s walk through how it all works.
What Exactly Happened to Your Tooth?
Teeth don’t crack like a windshield or a coffee mug. When a tooth fails, it either chips (a small piece breaks off the surface) or fractures (the break goes deeper, sometimes below the gumline). Both are common and can be repaired, but the approach depends on how serious the damage is.
Small chips often just need smoothing or a little bonding. But a fracture that weakens the tooth’s structure usually means a crown is the best way to protect what’s left and restore full function.
Signs you might need a crown include:
- A visible break or missing piece
- Sharp pain when biting down
- Sensitivity to hot or cold
- A rough edge that keeps catching your tongue or cheek
- Pain that lingers, which could mean the nerve is involved
If any of that sounds familiar, call us. The sooner we treat it, the less likely the damage is to worsen.
Step 1: The Exam and Digital Scan
When you come in, Dr. Baldwin starts by examining the tooth and taking digital X-rays to see what’s happening beneath the surface. He needs to know whether the fracture extends below the gumline and whether the nerve is affected.
If a crown is the right call, we skip the old-school goopy impression trays entirely. Instead, we use a small digital scanner that captures a precise 3D image of your tooth in just a couple of minutes. No mess, no gagging, no waiting for impressions to set.
Step 2: Designing Your Crown
Once we have that digital image, Dr. Baldwin designs your crown right there on the computer. He matches the shape, size, and color to your other teeth so it blends in naturally. You won’t end up with one tooth that’s obviously “the fake one.”
Step 3: Milling the Crown In-Office
We send the design to our in-office milling machine, which carves your custom crown out of a solid block of high-quality ceramic. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes, roughly the same amount of time it takes to drink a cup of coffee in our waiting room.
Step 4: Fitting and Placing
Once the crown is ready, Dr. Baldwin tries it on, checks the fit, and makes any fine adjustments to your bite. When everything looks and feels right, he bonds it in permanently. You could walk out with a fully restored tooth, no temporary crown, no second appointment, and no weeks of waiting.
Why Same-Day Matters
Traditional crowns take at least two visits, sometimes more, and you wear a temporary in between. Temporaries can pop off, feel awkward, and limit what you eat. CEREC eliminates all of that. One visit, one crown, done.
Don’t Wait on a Fractured Tooth
A fractured tooth won’t heal on its own. It’ll just get worse, and the longer you wait, the more likely you’ll need a root canal or even an extraction. If something doesn’t feel right in your mouth, call or request an appointment online today. Dr. Baldwin will take a look, explain your options, and, in many cases, fix it the very same day.