shahine.com/omar/

I have some of the worst teeth in the world. My dentist makes about $2000 to $3000 bucks a year off my insurance and out of pocket. Each year for the past 5 years I've averaged at least one crown and 1/2 a root canal (yes I brush my teath and floss, but it's genetic). Getting a crown isn't very fun but yesterday I saw the coolest thing.

Usually when you get a crown it goes like this:

1. Take impression of teeth
2. Drill Drill Drill
3. Take impression of little nubby left
4. Make temporary crown and spent like 30 minutes adjusting it so your bite isn't high
5. Return in 2-3 weeks when new porcelain crown has been made
6. Remove cemented temp and adjust new crown (which is always too big) for 1 hour.
7. Cement new crown and adjust bite.
8. More than likely you don't make it to step 7. Something is wrong with new crown. temp goes back on and repeat 5-8.

Well no more. My dentist has this amazing CAD/CAM system where they make the crown right in the office. It goes like this:

1. Spray powder on tooth
2. Take 3D Image of tooth
3. Drill Drill Drill
4. Take image of little nubby left
5. Spent 30 min or so designing new tooth on computer in 3D
6. Send to CAM machine that creates new tooth out of a porcelain block in under 15 minutes.
7. Adjust crown and cement.
8. Adjust bite.

Simply awesome.

BTW, my dentist, is Sam Thacher. If you live in San Francisco I highly recommend. Tell him I sent you .