I had a crown done today and it was the coolest thing ever. Really.

My dentist has started doing crowns with a CAD-CAM machine right in the office. This means that

1. I did not need a full crown, where I would have before (because of the better precision). In fact, I kept most of the outside of the tooth. The result is stronger than my original tooth.
2. No impressions, so no goopy gacky stuff.
3. No temporary crown.
4. I was home within two hours chewing gum, with a tooth that feels exactly like the old one. In fact, with my tongue I really can’t tell which tooth it is. The fit is perfect.

All of that is pretty nifty, but even better was watching the process. First he used a very small camera to take 3D “before” pictures. Then he did the drilling (including some with a laser). Then he took “after” pictures. The pictures were pulled into a CAD program where the technician could model the crown using the two sets of photos. It looked like working with Blender or other 3D design tool. It showed her areas that might be too thin to mill, and let her check to make sure there was enough room to floss, but not too large a gap. Then the data was sent to the machining tool. I went to watch it (drooling). It looked like a printer, but with two robotic drills that first measured the stock, then drilled the piece under sprays of water. At the end the finished crown fell into the water. The dentist cleaned it off, installed it, and I was done.