CAD/CAM Article
The How-To of a 90-Minute (or Less) Crown Appointment
Dr. Penelope Chang
Visiting Faculty
A predictable 90-minute CEREC crown appointment is all about an efficient workflow.
When you standardize the order of scanning, prepping, tissue management, designing, and bonding, you eliminate the pauses that stretch a visit to two hours. Here’s how I keep a CEREC appointment to 90 minutes or less.
5-10 min Pre-op
- Anesthetize immediately. While the patient is getting numb, use that time to select the shade, material, and take your pre-op scan.
- If you’re using a Primescan 2, this is typically done as a Status Scan.
- If you’re using a Primescan AC, scan the opposing and double buccal bite. Scan the working arch into the appropriate BioCopy catalog that you can add during Acquisition Phase and this becomes your reference for occlusion and anatomy.
I like to pre-scan most of the arch up to the tooth I’m working on into the corresponding catalog. This way, once I am done prepping, I can complete the scan quickly, even with isolation in place.
- During this stage, your assistant can load the mill, confirm the burs match the planned milling/grinding mode, and if you’re using a Primemill, initiate the touch process so it’s ready when you hit “Start.”
15-25 min Prep + Scan
- Prep with the end material in mind: ensure adequate reduction for the material you intend to use (this is one of the fastest ways to avoid redesigns, thin areas, and remills).
Whenever clinically appropriate, keep the margin supragingival. It’s easier to scan, verify, and typically faster to deliver, especially when you’re optimizing a 90-minute visit.
- With Primescan 2, scan only the prep and the proximal contacts (capture what you need for margins and contacts without over-scanning).
- With Primescan AC, if you haven’t already captured most of the working arch ahead of time, scan the entire arch so you can take full advantage of the Virtual Articulator.
20-35 min Design + Mill + Finish
- Aim for a 5-minute design. Use your BioCopy data as a reference and resist the urge to tweak every little detail.
- Hit “Manufacture” and start milling once you have checked your FOCCs (Fissure, Occlusion, Contours, and Contacts) and your Virtual Articulator. Small refinements are quicker post-mill than trying to perfect them in the Design Phase.
Use milling/oven time wisely. This is your built-in “productivity window”—hygiene check, quick quadrant dentistry, notes, emails, or simply a cup of coffee.
- Polish/crystallize/sinter/glaze depending on your material.
This is the “variable” portion of the appointment. Your actual time here depends on milling mode, material choice, and equipment. For example, KATANA Zirconia ONE SPEED can be milled using the Super Fast mode in a Primemill in less than 5 minutes and sintered in a SpeedFire in 9 minutes. The workflow stays the same—the material pathway determines the clock.
20 min Fit + Seat
- Seat and evaluate: check fit, margins, contacts, and occlusion; adjust as needed.
When doing contact adjustments, I like to use articulating paper to color the floss so that it marks the heavy areas, letting me see where the adjustments should be.
- Bond/cement and verify: cement/bond using your standard protocol, final bite check, floss contacts, verify margins, and give post-op instructions.
90-Minute CEREC Crown Appointment – Simple Timeline
Conclusion
A 90-minute appointment is less about speed and more about efficiency. Keep the steps in the same order every time. Pick a material pathway you’re comfortable with, commit to a quick design, and keep moving forward. Most appointments don’t fall behind because one step is hard; they fall behind because of the little pauses between steps.
Related CDOCS Hands-On Workshops
Core Workflows with Chairside CAD/CAM (CL200)
Master CEREC’s full potential with hands-on practice in crown fabrication, occlusion, multi-unit bridges, material selection, and digital workflows — empowering both new and experienced users to deliver faster, more predictable chairside restorations.
Provisionalizing and Restoring Implants with Chairside CAD/CAM (CL300)
Maximize your CEREC ROI by mastering chairside implant restoration — from screw-retained and custom abutment crowns to provisional restorations, custom healing abutments, and CBCT-integrated prosthetic planning for single-visit, long-lasting results.
