A crown used to mean two appointments, a mouthful of impression putty, and a few weeks wearing a temporary while a lab built your tooth. At our Kentfield office, CEREC technology changes that. Dr. Soroush Ghaffarpour ("Dr. G") uses a digital scanner, an in-office mill and a small furnace to craft a strong, natural-looking ceramic crown from start to finish while you're in the chair — so most patients walk out the same day with the real thing already in place. It's often faster and more comfortable for you, and the precise digital fit reflects the kind of careful, aesthetics-first dentistry Marin patients come to us for.
What are CEREC same-day crowns?
A crown is a custom cap that covers a tooth that's cracked, heavily worn, broken down, or rebuilt after a root canal — restoring its strength, shape and appearance. CEREC (it stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic) is the technology that lets us make that crown right here in our Kentfield office, in a single visit, instead of sending the work out to an off-site lab.
Here's how it comes together. First, we use the Primescan 2 digital scanner — a small wand, not a tray of putty — to capture a highly detailed 3D image of your tooth in a couple of minutes. Dr. G then designs your crown on screen, shaping the fit, the bite and the contours to match your natural teeth. That design is sent to our Primemill, an in-office mill that carves the crown out of a solid block of high-quality dental ceramic. Finally, the SpeedFire furnace strengthens and glazes it so it looks and feels like a real tooth. Once it's polished and we've checked the fit and your bite, we bond it permanently in place — all in the same appointment.
The traditional crown process vs. same-day CEREC
Plenty of offices still make crowns the way the whole profession did for decades — and it works, it just takes longer and asks more of you. Here's an honest look at both.
The traditional way
- You bite into a tray of thick impression putty to take a mold — often the part patients dread most, and easy to gag on.
- Because the real crown is made elsewhere, you leave with a temporary crown glued on, which can feel bulky, come loose, or be sensitive to hot and cold.
- Your impression is mailed to an outside dental lab, where a technician who never meets you builds the crown by hand.
- You wait roughly two to three weeks, then return for a second appointment — and sometimes more numbing — to have the permanent crown fitted and cemented.
- If the fit or shade isn't quite right when it comes back, the crown may need to go back to the lab, adding another wait.
The Kentfield Dental way
- A quick digital scan with the Primescan 2 replaces the goopy mold entirely — more comfortable, and far less likely to trigger a gag reflex.
- There's no temporary to wear, babysit, or worry about losing, because your permanent crown is ready the same day.
- Dr. G designs and mills your crown in our Kentfield office, so the dentist who knows your bite controls the result from start to finish.
- Most patients are done in one visit — one appointment, one round of numbing, no second trip across Marin a few weeks later.
- The digital workflow is designed for a precise fit, and because we can check and adjust it on the spot, fine-tuning the shade and bite happens while you're still here.
Why it matters for you
One visit instead of two
Your tooth is scanned, the crown is designed and milled, and it's bonded in place — all in a single appointment. That often means one trip to our Kentfield office instead of two visits spread over several weeks.
No goopy impression molds
The Primescan 2 captures your tooth with a small digital wand, so there's no tray of putty to bite into and far less chance of that gag-inducing moment many patients dread.
No temporary crown to manage
Because your permanent crown is ready the same day, you skip the temporary altogether — no bulky placeholder that can loosen, fall off, or leave the tooth sensitive while you wait.
A precise digital fit
Designing and milling from a detailed 3D scan is built for accuracy. A well-fitting crown seats cleanly against the tooth, which is designed to help it feel natural and last a long time.
Natural-looking ceramic
CEREC crowns are milled from high-quality dental ceramic and shade-matched to your smile, so the finished tooth is designed to blend in — in keeping with our aesthetics-first approach.
Less time away from your day
Collapsing two appointments into one means less time off work, less driving, and less disruption — especially welcome for busy Marin families and anyone who'd rather not stretch treatment out.
The equipment: CEREC — Primescan 2 digital scanner, Primemill in-office mill, and SpeedFire furnace.
Frequently asked questions
Yes — a CEREC crown is a permanent, full-strength ceramic crown, not a temporary or a shortcut. It's milled from a solid block of high-quality dental ceramic and designed for the same durability and natural appearance as a traditional lab crown. The main difference is that it's made in our office in one visit rather than mailed out and built over several weeks.
Getting a CEREC crown feels much like having a filling, and we numb the tooth so the visit is comfortable. The digital scan itself is comfortable — there's no putty tray to bite into. Because it's all done in one appointment, you also skip the second round of numbing that a traditional two-visit crown often requires. For anyone who feels anxious, Dr. G can talk through comfort and sedation options before we begin.
Most same-day crown appointments take roughly one and a half to two hours from start to finish. That includes preparing the tooth, the quick digital scan, designing and milling the crown, and bonding it in place. The exact time depends on the tooth, but you'll typically leave the same day with your permanent crown already in.
No. The whole point of CEREC is that your permanent crown is ready during the same visit, so there's no temporary to wear in the meantime. That means nothing bulky to manage, nothing to come loose, and no waiting period with a placeholder tooth.
CEREC crowns are milled from solid blocks of high-quality dental ceramic, then strengthened and glazed in our SpeedFire furnace. Ceramic is a tooth-colored, metal-free material that's designed to look natural and stand up to everyday biting and chewing. Dr. G shade-matches it to your surrounding teeth so the finished crown blends into your smile.
With good care, a well-made ceramic crown can last many years — often a decade or more. Longevity depends on your bite, your oral hygiene, and habits like grinding, but the precise digital fit a CEREC crown is built for helps support a long-lasting result. We'll also talk about a nightguard if grinding is a concern.
Same-day CEREC crowns are a great fit for most patients who need a crown, but not every situation. Some complex cosmetic cases or certain bridge and implant restorations may still be better suited to a lab-crafted or layered restoration. Dr. G will look at your tooth and tell you honestly whether a same-day crown is the right choice for you, or whether another option would serve you better.