Request an Appointment Download our Forms Like Us on Facebook leave a Review
(781) 396-3800

What is the Difference Between a Crown and an Onlay?

July 29, 2013

Fillings are a great, simple solution when your tooth is suffering from a cavity. Unfortunately, as your teeth are filled and filled again over the years, eventually there won’t be enough tooth structure left to support another filling. When this happens, we recommend using a crown or an onlay.

At Dr. Giamberardino’s dental office, sometimes patients ask us about the differences between a crown and an onlay. While both of these are great restorative treatments that can return function and appearance to a tooth, they are better for different situations.

A crown is a cap for your tooth and is best suited for restoring teeth with extensive decay. An onlay is a more conservative treatment that’s better suited to a tooth with less decay because it covers a portion of the tooth. Dr. Giamberardino will determine the right solution depending on how much of your natural tooth structure remains.

Crowns and onlays are great solutions for teeth that have become damaged or decayed beyond what can be repaired by a filling. If you have a tooth in need of repair, give us a call today and see how we can help restore your smile.

Giamberardino Dental Care provides quality general and cosmetic dentistry from our Medford, MA dental office. We serve patients from Medford, Winchester, Somerville, Malden, Everett, and surrounding communities. Call us today to schedule your next appointment.

Restoring Smiles Is Easier with CEREC Technology from Giamberardino Dental Care

September 27, 2011

Filed under: Restorative Dentistry — Tags: , , , — Dr. Anthony Giamberardino @ 3:49 pm

If you’ve ever had a crown before, you know what traditionally happens. The dentist gives you a temporary crown and tells you to come back in a couple of weeks, after a lab somewhere else has made a crown for you based on an impression of your tooth.

But the old way of doing things isn’t how we do it at Giamberardino Dental Care We understand that you’re time is precious, and that coming in for a visit can mean rearranging your entire day’s schedule.

That’s why, in most cases, we offer single-visit porcelain crowns. Using CEREC technology we can restore your smile in just visit and then have you on your way again in just a short amount of time.

How Does CEREC Work?

If Dr. Giamberardino tells you that you need a crown, here’s what you can expect. First, we’ll take the information we’ve gathered from a digital impression and feed that into our computer, which we’ll use to design your crown.

Then, our CEREC machine will actually mill your porcelain crown right in our office. This whole process usually takes about 90 minutes to complete.

After placing a final custom glaze in our ceramic over, all that’s left is for Dr. Giamberardino to put your finished crown in place. You won’t have to come back for a second or third visit; you can just get back to your normal schedule, confident that your smile is good shape again.

If you live in or around Medford and want to know more about CEREC technology, call our office to schedule a consultation visit with Dr. Giamberardino. We’d be happy to talk with you about how CEREC technology is making dentistry easier for us and more convenient for you.