How Same-Day Technology Works
The process starts differently from traditional crown appointments. Rather than dealing with messy impression trays filled with putty that can be unpleasant to work with, Dr. Connor or Dr. Prouty uses a compact intraoral scanner that captures highly accurate 3D images of your teeth and the surrounding area. The scanner is small, comfortable, and completes the imaging in just a few minutes. You can actually see your tooth appear on the computer screen in three dimensions as the scanning progresses.
Your dentist then designs your crown using specialized software while you’re still in the chair. This digital design process enables incredibly precise customization, allowing you to adjust the crown’s contours to match your natural teeth, ensure proper contact points with adjacent teeth, and perfect the way the crown meets your opposing teeth when you bite down. The whole design phase typically takes 10-15 minutes, and many patients enjoy watching their crown take shape digitally.
Once Dr. Prouty or Dr. Connor finalizes the design, that digital blueprint is transfered to a milling machine located right in the office. This sophisticated equipment carves your crown from a solid block of high-quality ceramic, replicating the digital design with remarkable precision. The milling takes roughly 15-20 minutes to complete.
After the crown emerges from the milling unit, your dentist carefully examines it, tries it on your prepared tooth, and makes any necessary fine-tuning adjustments to ensure a perfect fit and bite. Then the crown gets permanently bonded to your tooth using strong dental cement. You’re done—no temporary crown, no return visit, no weeks of wondering when you’ll finally get your permanent restoration.
The Real Advantages of One-Visit Crowns
Time is probably the most valuable thing same-day crowns in Sioux Falls save you. One appointment means one instance of taking time off work, one round of arranging transportation or childcare, and one experience of sitting in the dental chair. For busy professionals, parents juggling multiple responsibilities, or anyone who simply values their time, consolidating everything into a single visit makes tremendous practical sense.
Temporary crowns bring their own complications that same-day treatment eliminates entirely. Those temporaries attach with weaker cement designed for easy removal later, which means they’re prone to coming loose at inconvenient moments. Biting into something chewy might dislodge your temporary, or it might come off while you’re flossing. When that happens, you’re stuck with an exposed, sensitive tooth until you can get to the office for re-cementing. Same-day crowns bypass this problem because they’re permanent from the moment of placement.
Your eating experience improves immediately, too. Traditional temporaries come with a list of foods to avoid—nothing too hard, too chewy, too sticky. You spend weeks being careful about what you eat and which side of your mouth you chew on. Same-day crowns are ready for normal use right away. You can eat whatever you want as soon as the numbness wears off.
The digital workflow often produces more accurate results than conventional impression methods. Traditional impressions can be affected by saliva contamination, material distortion as it sets, or simply human technique variations. Digital scans capture exact measurements every time, eliminating these variables. Better accuracy means better fit, which translates to crowns that feel more natural and last longer.
When Crowns Become Necessary
Crowns solve problems that fillings can’t adequately address. If you’ve broken off a large portion of a tooth, developed a crack that extends below the gum line, or have a cavity so extensive that filling it would leave insufficient tooth structure for strength, a crown becomes the appropriate treatment. The crown covers and protects the remaining tooth, preventing further damage and restoring full function.
Teeth that undergo root canal treatment need crowns for protection afterward. Root canal therapy removes the tooth’s nerve and blood vessels, leaving it more brittle and vulnerable to fracture. Without the reinforcement a crown provides, the tooth could break during normal chewing. Crowning the tooth after root canal completion prevents this complication and can help the tooth last for many more years.
Severe wear from grinding affects more people than you might expect. If you clench or grind your teeth—often without realizing it, especially during sleep—you can wear down the chewing surfaces significantly over time. Crowns restore lost tooth height and provide a durable surface that withstands grinding forces better than worn natural enamel.
Aesthetic concerns also drive some crown placements. Teeth that are severely discoloured from old injuries, certain medications, or developmental conditions often don’t respond to whitening treatments. Crowns can completely mask these discolourations. Teeth with unusual shapes or proportions can be reshaped and resized with crowns to create better harmony in your smile.
Dr. Connor and Dr. Prouty evaluate your specific circumstances and explain whether a crown is the best option for you or if alternative treatments might better suit your needs.
Walking Through Your Appointment
Your same-day crown appointment at any of the three Infinity Sedation Dentistry locations—Sioux Falls, Watertown, or Dakota Dunes—starts with numbing the tooth that needs treatment. Once you’re comfortable and the anaesthesia has taken full effect, Dr. Prouty or Dr. Connor removes any decay and carefully shapes your tooth to receive the crown. This preparation creates room for the crown material while keeping as much healthy tooth structure intact as possible.
Digital scanning comes next. The process is quick and comfortable—no gagging on impression material, no waiting for putty to set. You’ll watch your tooth appear on the monitor as a detailed three-dimensional model. Your dentist uses this model to design your crown, adjusting its shape and size to ensure a seamless blend with your natural teeth.
While the milling machine is creating your crown, you have approximately 15-20 minutes of downtime. Some patients step outside for fresh air or a quick errand. Others catch up on their phones, read, or simply rest. When your crown is ready, Dr. Connor or Dr. Prouty brings it to the chair and tries it in place.
The fitting stage involves checking multiple factors—how the crown sits on your prepared tooth, how it contacts the adjacent teeth, and, most importantly, how it feels when you bite down. Your dentist makes any necessary adjustments to perfect these elements. Once everything checks out, the crown gets permanently cemented, excess cement gets cleaned away, and your treatment is complete.
The entire appointment typically runs two to three hours from start to finish. You leave with a permanent crown that requires no special care or dietary restrictions.
Same-Day Crowns in Sioux Falls
Why put up with weeks of temporary crowns and multiple appointments when you can complete everything in one visit? Call Infinity Sedation Dentistry in Sioux Falls, Watertown, or Dakota Dunes to schedule your same-day crown appointment with Dr. Brian Prouty or Dr. Kevin Connor. Whether you’re dealing with a fractured tooth, need a crown following root canal treatment, or want to fix that damaged tooth you’ve been avoiding, same-day crowns let you walk in with a problem and walk out with a permanent solution. One appointment, complete results, and you’re back to living your life—that’s the way crown treatment should work.