CEREC Connect Centre
What is CEREC Connect?
- CEREC Connect turns every CEREC System into a digital dentistry powerhouse, allowing immediate connectivity to Sirona inLab laboratories.
The benefits to you, the dentist
- Optical impression saves time and money
- The digital impression generated by the CEREC acquisition unit saves time and reduces your labour costs. In addition, it is much more comfortable for the patient than a conventional impression.
- Unlike physical impressions, digital impressions are immune to dimensional changes. This results in superior precision - a prerequisite for sustained qualityDirect feedback from dental technician
- The digital impression can be viewed immediately by yourself and the dental technician. This means that you can discuss the case over the phone while the patient is still in the chair. You can even make final adjustments to the preparation.
- Highly aesthetic laboratory standard ceramics and finishing.
The old way
Prepare the tooth,
Take a conventional working impression, opposing arch impression & 
bite registration
Disinfect the impressions and package ready for despatch to the laboratory,
Fill in the prescription form,
Post everything to laboratory or store awaiting the next collection
Wait for laboratory to cast impression to find out if it's ok to proceed with case.
This procedure may soon be a thing of the past. Launched at the 2008 Chicago Midwinter Meeting, the CEREC Connect web portal allows dentists to transmit digital impressions acquired using the CEREC camera to a dental lab of their choice. The lab then produces the restorations to the dentist's specifications. Numerous dental practices have already signed up for this new service in the USA. CEREC Connect not only saves time and money. It is also more pleasant for the patient and eliminates potential sources of error. A wide variety of restoration types are now available via http://www.cerec-connect.com/ - for example including all-ceramic anterior crowns, lithium disilicate crowns and provisional bridges with up to three units.
The craft skills of a dental technician still play a decisive role, especially with regard to aesthetically challenging anterior restorations or cases that require exceptional aesthetic results. On the other hand, these restorations can now be produced entirely on the basis of digital impressions - i.e. physical models are no longer required for some restorations.
The conventional impression and subsequent model production belong to the most labour intensive and error prone processes in dental practices and laboratories. Especially when all the variable expansion rates of different products are taken into account. The optical digital impression facilitates precision and minimizes possible sources of error.
The new way
Prepare tooth,
Scan preparation with Cerec unit,
Review preperation on screen immediately and make any changes necessary straight away, even share & discuss with lab if required,
Send digital image along with online prescription for production
With the aid of the new CEREC AC and the CEREC Bluecam dentists are now in a position to acquire complete quadrants - with such outstanding precision that infiniDent can now create physical models on the basis of digital impressions alone. This greatly simplifies the design and fabrication of layered anterior and posterior crowns, as well as zirconium oxide bridge frameworks with up to four units. When processing the data delivered by the CEREC Connect software infiniDent deploys a special SLA stereolithography machine. This machine uses a computer controlled laser to cure a photo-sensitive resin, layer by layer, in order to create the 3D model.
The process could not be simpler. Using the CEREC Bluecam, the dentist acquires digital impressions of the preparation and the antagonist. On the basis of just one overlapping image, the software is capable of computing both half arches. After checking the 3D model on the monitor, the dentist then clicks the "Send" button, enters the order details and uploads the data to the CEREC Connect portal. After downloading the data from CEREC Connect, the dental lab decides whether or not an intermediate model is required. If not, the dental technician can begin fabricating the restoration immediately. If the laboratory needs a model (e.g. for a zirconium oxide bridge framework), it simply places a corresponding order with infiniDent. Using the 3D data supplied by the laboratory, infiniDent produces the model out of an acrylic material. In the meantime, the laboratory can design, mill and sinter the bridge framework. As soon as the model is received from infiniDent, the technician makes the final adjustments to the framework and then applies the veneering material and adds the final finishing touches for an outstanding aesthetic result.
The CEREC Connect Procedure
there are also introduction and clinical videos available from the Cerec Connect site which you can view by clicking here
Indications for use
With CEREC Connect already more than 50% of all indications are digitally viable,with an increasing trend. Initially, CEREC Connect will cater for single tooth restorations such as inlays, onlays, veneers, anatomically sized crowns and framework based crowns. A system upgrade for multiple-unit restorations is under preparation.
A large selection of materials are available:
- Zirconium
- Alumina
- Feldspar / glass ceramic
- Lithium disilicate (e.max CAD)
- Polymers
- Precious and non-precious metals
In summary CEREC Connect gives you:-
Precision
The quality of the digital impression has a decisive impact on the restoration outcome. The CEREC Bluecam delivers precise images and an unprecedented degree of measurement precision.*
You benefit from an extensive depth of field, enhanced detail reproduction at the preparation margins, automatic capture and shake-free images. The precision of the CEREC AC and CEREC Bluecam does not depend on the user. This means that even beginners can create high-quality impressions. The 3D preview gives you complete control over the quality of the digital model.
Compared with their conventional counterparts, digital impressions are not subject to material-related changes. The digital method minimizes errors which could compromise the accuracy of fit of the final restoration.
* Result of a study by Prof. Dr. Mehl (Zurich University, 2008): Accuracy of depth measurement: 19 µm.
Ease of use
Prepare, capture, send - digital impression-taking is simple and easy to integrate into your practice workflow. The design and fabrication of the restoration are performed by a dental lab of your choice.
Digital impressions significantly reduce your input of time an effort. Only a few exposures are required in order to capture the preparation, the adjacent teeth and the antagonists. You can capture an entire half arch in less than a minute, while maintaining a comfortable treatment position. A further labour-saving feature is the 3D preview.
Future compatibility
In dentistry as in other medical disciplines digital technology is synonymous with progress and state-of-the art treatment procedures.
Over the past 20+ years Sirona has acquired a unique stock of experience and development expertise in the area of digital dental technology. The outcome is a proven and integrated system for producing precise, high-quality restorations. This has been confirmed by numerous scientific studies. More than 18 million restorations have been created using Sirona's digital impression-taking technology.*
Future technological developments can be integrated into the existing system. If required you can upgrade the CEREC AC to cater for chairside restorations. Only Sirona offers such flexibility in the area of digital impression-taking.
Patient retention
Impression-free treatment delivers greater comfort (e.g. no gag reflex) and shorter treatment times. This boosts the satisfaction of existing patients - and attracts new patients into the bargain. Digital impressions via CEREC Connect also increase your chances of attracting patients who decide consciously in favour of high-quality dental prostheses. This is an important factor in view of the growing competition between dental practices.
Direct communication
The CEREC Connect software and the CEREC Connect web portal simplify collaboration between the dental practice and the laboratory. After they have registered, both parties can communicate via a shared software platform. Transmitting the data model takes only a few seconds and gives the lab an immediate and detailed insight into the treatment situation.
Thanks to the precise digital impression created in the patient's mouth plus the 1:1 transmission of the model data to the laboratory, the dental technician obtains an insight into the treatment situation virtually in real time. It is therefore possible to discuss important details with the technician before the patient leaves the practice. This is a further advantage compared with conventional impression-taking methods.
What current CEREC Connect users have to say
You just can't beat talking to someone who has used a system, so here is a link the to an initial user report from a CEREC Connect user.
Once ready to go you can register at the CEREC connect web portal and register to send your cases to a CEREC connect dental laboratory
Contact us today for more information on how we can assist you as a CEREC Connect Digital Impressions Centre with a history of excellence in digital dentistry
Or download our lab cards and postage labels to send a case today!
Ambridge Ceramics, the home of digital dentistry.
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