CAD means computer aided design; CAM means computer aided manufacture. Up until now, if a patient needed a filling in one visit it meant amalgam or resin. Amalgam is black and causes teeth to crack and break, but lasts a long time. Resin looks good, but it’s weak, so it breaks down, often allowing bacteria to colonise underneath and set up new decay – requiring another, bigger filling. Now we have a single visit filling material which is strong, looks good and wears well, for a long time. Our chosen CAD/CAM system is the best available – CEREC.
