Our digital dental laboratory

What we do at our office

The laboratory makes what Dr. Tetri designs; the machines do not decide what you get. The work starts with a prescription: which teeth, what shape, what color, what material and how the piece will be cleaned. The records are photographs, a digital scan and a bite record; for an implant bridge we also record where each implant sits. Digital and conventional records both have a place, and neither is better for every case. The laboratory is run by our team of dental technicians with Dr. Tetri.

Materials follow the job. Zirconia (a strong white ceramic) goes where the bite is heavy, glass ceramic where appearance matters most, resin for temporaries; no single material suits every tooth. Good equipment helps; it does not replace checking the fit in your mouth. Everything that goes between your mouth and the laboratory is disinfected both ways.

What happens at the visit

1. Prescription and records. Dr. Tetri decides what is being made and why. We take photographs, a digital scan and a bite record.
2. Design. The piece is designed on screen, where you can see the shape. We check the contacts (where it touches the neighboring teeth), the bite and whether a brush can reach around it.
3. Mock-up or temporary. For veneers, smile changes and full-arch cases, a mock-up (a trial version of the new teeth placed over your own) or a temporary lets you see and feel the proposal first. Changes are made here, where they are easy.
4. Making it. Crowns and bridges are milled or printed and then finished by hand, with the shade matched to the photographs. Temporaries are made the same way in a simpler material.
5. Try-in and delivery. The piece is tried in and the fit, the contacts and the bite are checked in your mouth. Then it is bonded, cemented or screwed in; on an implant, an X-ray confirms it is seated.
6. Repairs. Chips and loose screws are fixed here, without starting over where that is possible.

Risks and limits

• A screen preview is a proposal, not the final color, feel or speech; those are judged in the mouth.
• Ceramic can chip, resin wears and stains, screws loosen. Every restoration needs home care and checkups.
• A temporary can break or come off; call us and we refit it.
• Some cases still need a conventional impression or a physical model. Digital does not replace them every time.
• Fit on a model is not fit in the mouth; the try-in is where that is decided.

Questions patients ask

Is the laboratory in your office?

Yes, it is part of our office, on the same floor as the treatment rooms. That is what lets us change a design between visits.

Will I see the design before it is made?

Yes. On screen for every piece, and in your mouth as a mock-up or temporary for larger cases.

How long does a crown take?

It depends on the piece, the material and the laboratory's workload at the time. We give you the try-in date before you leave.

Can a chipped crown or veneer be repaired?

Often, in the mouth or in the laboratory. A crack through the piece means a remake, and we tell you which before touching it.

Sources

• CDC: Dental laboratory infection-control guidance
• Systematic review: Photogrammetry versus intraoral scanning
• Systematic review: Digital and conventional workflow time and cost
• Systematic review: CAD/CAM (computer-designed, machine-made) restorative materials

Related: Dental implants · All-on-X full-arch implants · Full-mouth rehabilitation · The Viso G7 3D scan

Request a visit

[Request a visit](/book) · Call 786-320-5445