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RES · 03

Same-Day Crowns — Lab-Grade Quality in 2 Hours

Most same-day crowns — what people think of as "CEREC crowns" — look plastic, fit poorly, and chip within a year. Ours don't. We design each crown in Exocad, mill it on a 5-axis DOF Craft machine, and hand-finish it with lab-grade glazing. One visit, no temporary, no compromise.

Schedule Consultation → Call (301) 652-2222
In chair
~2 hours
Visits
One
Material
Zirconia or e.max
RES · 03
Restorative
Chevy Chase, MD
Radiant Dental
Our Signature

Why ours look different

Same-day crowns got a bad reputation in the 2000s because early CEREC crowns were monolithic blocks of uniform ceramic — flat, opaque, too white. Milled in 20 minutes, glued in, done. They screamed "dentist crown" from across a room.

Modern same-day crowns — ours — are different. We start with a high-resolution intraoral scan, design the crown tooth-by-tooth in Exocad (the same software used in top labs), mill it on a 5-axis machine that handles complex anatomy, then custom-stain and glaze by hand before cementing.

The result: a crown you cannot tell is a crown. Lab-grade. One visit.

The Appointment

What a same-day crown visit looks like

From the moment you sit in the chair, here's how a crown is made in about 2 hours.

01

Prep & scan

The tooth is prepared (or an old crown removed), scanned in 3D with our intraoral scanner. No gooey impressions, no temporaries needed.

~30 minutes
02

Digital design

Dr. Siddiqui designs the crown personally in Exocad — contouring anatomy, matching bite, fine-tuning margins. Not a pre-built template.

~20 minutes
03

Milling

The crown is milled on our 5-axis DOF Craft in high-strength zirconia or e.max. Milling alone takes 12–20 minutes per crown.

~20 minutes
04

Stain, glaze, fire

The milled crown is custom-stained to match your adjacent teeth, glazed, and fired in our porcelain oven for lab-grade finish.

~30 minutes
05

Fit & cement

Crown is tried in, adjusted for fit, cemented, and polished. You walk out with a permanent restoration.

~20 minutes
How Ours Differ

Why our same-day crowns look and last different

The gap between a cheap same-day crown and ours is hours of work — and a generation of technology.

Our in-house CAD/CAM lab — DOF Craft 5-axis mill, SintraPRO furnace, CAD-Ray scanner, and Exocad design station
Inside our lab
A full CAD/CAM lab — in the same building as your chair.
Design, mill, sinter, and finish. Every step happens in-house, which is why we can deliver a permanent crown the same day instead of a plastic temporary and a two-week wait.
Mill
DOF Craft 5X
3D Printers
SprintRay
Software
Exocad
Turnaround
Same day
DIFF 01

Exocad design (not CEREC)

CEREC is fast but templated. Exocad is what top dental labs use — full anatomical control, contact management, and occlusion fine-tuning.

DIFF 02

5-axis milling

Most same-day mills are 3- or 4-axis, which forces compromises in complex anatomy. Our 5-axis machine captures lab-grade detail on every surface.

DIFF 03

Custom stain + fire

We don't just mill and cement. We stain, glaze, and fire every crown in our porcelain oven so it matches your natural teeth — not just fills the space.

Questions

Frequently asked

Are same-day crowns as good as lab crowns?
At most practices, no. At ours, yes — often better. The difference is that we use lab-grade software (Exocad), a 5-axis mill, and hand-finishing. A typical "CEREC mill-and-go" crown is not the same thing as what we make.
How long does a same-day crown appointment take?
About 2 hours total. You'll be in and out of the chair a couple of times while your crown is milled and fired. Bring a book or your laptop.
Will the crown match my other teeth?
Yes. We custom-stain and glaze every crown to match surrounding teeth — shade, translucency, surface texture. It's hand-work, not paint-by-numbers.
How long do they last?
Zirconia and e.max crowns routinely last 15+ years. The crown itself rarely fails — what fails is usually the underlying tooth (decay around the margin) or bite trauma (grinding). Regular cleanings and a nightguard if you grind extend life significantly.
What if the crown doesn't fit?
We check fit before cementing. In the rare case something's off, we re-mill. Because the work is in-house, a re-do takes 30 minutes, not 2 weeks.
Why can't my regular dentist do this?
Most general practices don't own an intraoral scanner, milling machine, porcelain oven, or Exocad license. The in-house setup costs six figures and requires training we've invested in. Very few Chevy Chase offices have it.
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Ready When You Are

Your next smile starts with a consultation

Dr. Jay Siddiqui personally evaluates every case. No associates, no rotating doctors. Book online or call to schedule — evenings and Saturdays available.

Schedule Online → Call (301) 652-2222