About Same-Day Dental Crown
Same-day dental crowns (often called “CEREC” or chairside crowns) allow you to restore a damaged or weakened tooth in a single visit. Using digital scanning instead of traditional impressions, we design your crown on a computer and craft it in-clinic for a precise fit and natural appearance. This means you can avoid temporary crowns and multiple appointments, while still receiving a strong, durable restoration that looks and functions like a natural tooth. Same-day crowns are commonly used after large fillings, fractures, or root canal treatment, and they can help protect your tooth for the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a same-day crown?
A same-day crown is a custom-made tooth cap that is designed and produced in the clinic on the same day as your appointment. Digital scans are used to capture your tooth shape accurately, and the crown is then fitted and bonded during the same visit.
Who is a good candidate for a same-day crown?
Many patients are suitable if the tooth needs a crown and there is enough healthy tooth structure to support it. The best option depends on the tooth position, bite forces, and the condition of the tooth and gums. We’ll assess your situation and recommend the most suitable crown option.
How long does the appointment take?
Most same-day crown appointments take a few hours, depending on the complexity of the case. This typically includes preparing the tooth, scanning, designing and milling the crown, then fitting and bonding it.
Are same-day crowns as strong as traditional crowns?
Yes—same-day crowns are designed to be durable and long-lasting when properly planned and cared for. The material used is strong and aesthetic, and the final result can look very natural. We will advise if a different type of crown is more suitable for your specific case.
How do I care for my crown after treatment?
Care for your crown the same way you care for natural teeth: brush twice daily, floss every day, and attend regular check-ups and cleans. Avoid chewing very hard items (like ice) and let us know if you notice discomfort when biting or any sensitivity that doesn’t settle.
Same-Day Dental Crown
Restore your smile in a single visit — no temporaries, no weeks of waiting, no compromise.
What is the Process of Getting a Tooth Crown?
Generally, the standard process of getting a dental crown requires a minimum of two appointments on different days. The first will be to have the tooth prepared and shaved down to allow proper fitting and retention of the dental crown. An impression (digital or physical) of how the tooth looks and fits with the other teeth in the mouth will be made to ensure accuracy in crown design and production. However, for practices that do not have the equipment available to make tooth crowns, you will have to wait a minimum of two weeks before it can be fitted. Additionally, certain materials such as metal can only be made by a dental lab. In the meantime, a temporary tooth crown is placed in the same appointment, so you do not have to worry about walking out with an oddly shaped tooth.
Tooth Preparation
The tooth is shaped and shaved down to allow proper fitting and retention of the crown.
Digital Impression
A digital or physical impression captures the exact geometry of your tooth and surrounding bite.
Crown Design & Milling
Your crown is designed and fabricated using CAD/CAM precision technology — no laboratory delay for same-day crowns.
Fitting & Bond
Colour-matched, checked for occlusion, then permanently bonded. You leave with your final crown.
One visit. Permanent crown. No waiting.
With the introduction of digital scanners and in-practice milling machines, same-day tooth crowns are now an available option for those who want to skip the wait, preventing the hassle of having to come back a few weeks later to have the crown fitted. Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing, also known as CAD/CAM, has become a highly advanced and effective method of crown design. In conjunction with rapid advancements in digital scanning technology, they have allowed for the creation of incredibly accurate dental crowns down to the nanometre.
Single-visit treatment
Your permanent crown is designed, milled and bonded in one appointment — no temporaries, no return trips.
CAD/CAM technology
Computer-aided design and in-practice milling produce a crown that fits your bite and matches your natural tooth shade.
Nanometre-level accuracy
Digital scanning captures your tooth geometry to the nanometre, producing an exact and durable fit.
Precision geometry. No putty. No guesswork.
Digital scanning has revolutionised the way we create, model and visualise models. In the past, putty impressions were the only way to create physical models of people's teeth. With the introduction of digital scanners, we can now create 3D models using advanced AI that rearrange the thousands of intraoral photos the scanner takes to correctly map out a detailed model.
This process is quick and comfortable. We can forgo the uncomfortable and gag-inducing experience of the cold, wet and messy putty impression material. Other than tooth crowns, digital scanning is useful for implants, splints, dentures and orthodontics.
Advantages of Same-Day Tooth Crowns
Most patients are excellent candidates for same-day crowns. Here's what to consider when comparing your options.
- Instantly achieve optimal function/aesthetics Temporary tooth crowns may not offer the best aesthetics, shape or function as they are generally based on what the original tooth was shaped like. Although they can still be modified for improvement, it is a time-consuming process for something that will soon be replaced with a more permanent crown.
- Avoid unnecessary revisits Temporary crowns can fracture or break off the tooth, a rare occurrence but not unexpected. Compared to the final crown, the material and shape of the temporary crowns will not match its strength and retention. A timely emergency visit to the dentist will be necessary to fix the temporary crown in these cases.
- Avoid the risk of sensitivity/discomfort Temporary crowns may not be able to achieve a complete seal around the tooth, and some margins may be exposed and can become sensitive.
- Limited choice of materials Same-day crowns are limited to ceramic materials. Although they are more aesthetically pleasing than their metallic counterparts such as gold, they may not be as durable. Metal crowns may be more indicated for certain cases where strength is of utmost importance.
- Generally limited to straightforward cases Some complex cases may require technicians extra days to finish the job in order to achieve the best result, making same-day dental crown solutions unviable in certain situations.
Designed, milled and fitted — in a single visit.
Our in-clinic CAD/CAM workflow takes you from digital scan to a permanent crown without a second appointment.
Digital crown shaping
A 3D scan replaces the messy impression. Your crown is shaped on screen to match your bite, contact points and surrounding teeth precisely.
→Detail and finish
Margins, occlusion and aesthetics are refined down to fractions of a millimetre — the same care a master technician would take by hand.
→Milled from a single ceramic block
Your crown is precisely milled chairside from a solid ceramic block — strong, biocompatible, and ready to fit before you leave.