At a glance: A same-day crown is designed and made while you wait, so you leave with the finished tooth in place. At our Madison Boulevard office we scan the tooth digitally, design the crown, and mill it from ceramic in our own in-house lab. No putty impression, no temporary crown to wear between visits, and no second injection at a follow-up appointment.
Book your same-day crown consultation · (256) 529-5179
A crown can be placed anywhere. What is different here is that yours is designed, milled and fitted without the tooth leaving the building.
Your crown is planned by Dr. Leslie Barrilleaux, D.M.D., who has been an Accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. She is the only AACD-accredited cosmetic dentist in Alabama, a credential held by fewer than 600 dentists nationwide.
A crown on a molar is a mechanical problem: it has to fit, seal and take the force of chewing. A crown on a front tooth is a cosmetic problem as well, because it has to match the shade, the surface texture and the light behavior of the tooth beside it, or it will show. Accreditation is the credential that speaks to that second half of the job. More about her training is on Dr. Barrilleaux’s page.
On the conventional route, a scan or an impression is sent out to a dental laboratory, and you wait in a temporary crown while the case travels there and back.
We do not send it anywhere. We run our own in-house dental lab, with a Planmeca PlanMill 50 S milling unit and an Ivoclar Vivadent Programat CS6 firing oven. The same dentist who prepared your tooth reviews the design that goes to the mill. If something needs adjusting, it is adjusted in the same building, in the same visit, rather than in an email thread with a technician you will never meet.
This is the question we are asked most often.
CEREC is a brand name, and a registered trademark of Dentsply Sirona. It was the system that made one-visit crowns possible, and over the years the name has become shorthand for the whole idea, the way people say “Kleenex” for a tissue.
If you have searched for a CEREC crown, what you are really looking for is a crown that is designed and milled in one visit, so you leave with the finished tooth. That is what we do.
Dr. Barrilleaux trained in the CEREC method, completing CEREC Basic, Advanced and Anterior Training. Today the crowns are designed and milled in our own lab.
Crown restoration is completed in a single appointment.
No tray of impression putty held in your mouth while you try not to gag. No temporary crown that can loosen, stain or come off while you eat. No going numb a second time so the permanent crown can be cemented. One appointment, one anesthetic, one finished tooth.
A filling repairs a tooth. A crown covers it. Once too much of the natural tooth is gone, a filling has nothing solid left to hold on to, and the tooth needs a cover instead of a patch.
There are several reasons for a crown, including the following:
If you have recently had a root canal, a crown is very often the next step, because the treated tooth is more brittle than it was and needs protecting. If the damage is smaller than a crown warrants, an inlay or onlay may be the better restoration, and we will tell you so.
We numb the tooth. We use The Wand, a computer-controlled system that delivers the local anesthetic slowly and steadily instead of in one push. The anesthetic goes in slowly and precisely, so you feel little to no discomfort.
We prepare the tooth and scan it. The damaged surface is shaped so the crown has something to seat onto, then we take a digital scan. No tray, no putty, no waiting for a mold to set.
We design the crown. The scan becomes a three-dimensional model on screen, and the crown is designed against your bite and the neighboring teeth.
We mill it and fire it. The design goes to the Planmeca PlanMill 50 S in our lab, which cuts the crown from a solid ceramic block. It is then fired in the Ivoclar Programat CS6 to bring it to its final strength and finish.
We fit it. We check the fit, the bite and the shade, adjust where needed, and bond the crown into place. You leave with the finished tooth.
You are in the chair while all of this happens, so bring something to read. It is a single appointment, completed in a matter of hours, and we will give you a realistic time for your own tooth once we have seen it.
| Same-day crown at Dentistry Today | Traditional crown | |
|---|---|---|
| Appointments | One | Usually two, and the lab work may take weeks |
| Impressions | None. A digital scan | Putty impression tray |
| Temporary crown | None | Yes, worn between visits |
| Second injection | Not needed | Usually needed at the fitting visit |
| Where it is made | Our own lab, on site | An outside laboratory |
Ceramic. It is milled from a solid block rather than built up in layers. Ceramics are biocompatible, the crown is long-lasting and durable, and it improves the appearance of the tooth.
Ceramic is also why a same-day crown can sit at the front of your mouth without announcing itself. It handles light in a way metal cannot.
Ask us whether a same-day crown is right for your tooth · (256) 529-5179
We do not publish a crown price, and we’d ask you to be careful with any practice that does. The cost depends on the tooth, on how much of it is left, and on whether other work is needed first. A number quoted before anyone has looked in your mouth is a guess.
What we’ll do is look at the tooth, explain what it needs, and give you an exact written price before you commit to anything. No treatment begins until you have agreed to that figure.
A crown is the most cost-effective restoration available today, because a crown that saves a tooth is nearly always cheaper over a lifetime than the implant that replaces one.
We offer two financing routes, and you can read the detail on our insurance and financing page.
Cherry Lets you treat now and pay later. There are no hard credit checks, ever. True 0% APR options are available, approvals go up to $50,000, and there are no hidden fees.
CareCredit is the other option, and it is widely accepted, so many patients already hold a card.
Dental plans differ widely in what they contribute toward a crown, and the share depends on your own policy. Bring your plan details to the consultation and we will go through your benefits with you before you decide anything.
A crown is one answer among several, and it is not always the right one.
Our office is at 7736 Madison Blvd, Suite #2, in Madison, and we also see patients from Research Park, Jones Valley, Hampton Cove and across Huntsville. Our Madison dentist page covers the same treatments from the same office.
Because the crown is made on site, a same-day appointment is genuinely a same-day appointment. There is no second half-day off work to book.
Call Dentistry Today · (256) 529-5179
Dentistry Today: Dr. Leslie Barrilleaux, D.M.D. 7736 Madison Blvd, Suite #2 Huntsville, AL 35806 Phone: (256) 529-5179 Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm
A same-day crown is completed in a single appointment. The scan, the design, the milling and the fitting all happen in one visit, because the crown is made in our own lab rather than sent away. The process is completed in a matter of hours, and we will give you a realistic time for your own tooth once we have examined it.
A same-day crown is milled from ceramic in our own lab rather than layered by hand at an outside one, and these crowns are long-lasting and durable. What shortens the life of any crown is the same in either case: grinding your teeth, an untreated bite problem, or decay at the margin where the crown meets the tooth. Look after it as you would a natural tooth and it will behave like one.
CEREC is a brand name, and it is a registered trademark of Dentsply Sirona, but it has become shorthand for any crown designed and milled in one visit. That one-visit result is exactly what we provide. Dr. Barrilleaux trained in the CEREC method, completing CEREC Basic, Advanced and Anterior Training. Today we design and mill crowns in our own in-house lab on a Planmeca PlanMill 50 S and fire them in an Ivoclar Programat CS6.
Ceramic. It is milled from a solid ceramic block in our in-house lab, rather than layered by hand at an outside laboratory. The material is biocompatible and long-lasting, and ceramic handles light in a way that lets a crown sit at the front of the mouth without looking obviously artificial.
The tooth is numbed before any work begins, and we use The Wand, a computer-controlled system that delivers the local anesthetic slowly and steadily rather than in one push. Because the crown is fitted in the same visit, there is no need for a second injection at a follow-up appointment, which is one of the real comfort benefits of the one-visit approach. Tell us if you are anxious about the injection and we will talk you through it first.
The cost depends on the tooth and on how much of it is left, so we do not publish a figure. We examine the tooth, explain what it needs, and give you an exact written price before you agree to any treatment. A crown is the most cost-effective restoration available today, because saving a tooth is nearly always cheaper than replacing it. Cherry and CareCredit financing are both available, and you can read the terms on our insurance and financing page.
Yes. We run our own in-house dental lab, with a Planmeca PlanMill 50 S milling unit and an Ivoclar Vivadent Programat CS6 firing oven. Your crown is designed, milled and fired in the same building as the chair you are sitting in, and the dentist who prepared your tooth reviews the design before it is milled. Nothing is shipped to an outside laboratory, which is why you can leave with the finished tooth.
This page is general information about dental crowns, not dental or medical advice. Reading it does not create a dentist-patient relationship. Whether a same-day crown is suitable for your tooth can only be determined by an in-person examination, and results vary from patient to patient. No prices are quoted here. Any cost given to you in person is specific to your treatment plan. For advice about your own teeth, please speak to Dr. Leslie Barrilleaux, D.M.D. or another qualified dental professional.
