You need a crown or a veneer. You have heard two different stories about how that goes. One dentist can finish it today. Another sends it out and asks you to come back in two weeks. Both use real ceramic. Both aim for a good, lasting fit. At Wave Dentistry in White Rock, Dr. Joel Gaudet explains the real difference between the two paths. It is not quality. It is visits, turnaround, and how much control the dentist keeps over each step along the way.
Wave’s fully digital dentistry approach uses iTero scanning, 3D CBCT imaging, and in-house milling to plan and finish many crowns and veneers in one visit. The traditional outsourced-lab route uses the same materials, just split across two visits with a wait in between. Someone else’s lab handles the middle step. Neither path is the wrong one, but each costs the patient a different amount of time.
What each route actually looks like
- The digital, in-house route usually finishes a crown or veneer in one visit, start to finish.
- The traditional lab route usually takes two visits, spread two to three weeks apart.
- A temporary crown or veneer sits in your mouth for one to two weeks under the traditional route.
- Only about 15 percent of general dental practices have in-office milling equipment, based on published survey data, which is why most patients only know the two-visit version.
- Ask Wave Dentistry directly whether your specific tooth or veneer case is a same-day fit.
Wave’s digital, in-house route
Your visit starts with an iTero Element 5D scan. It maps your tooth and bite in about five minutes, without a mold. For crowns near the jaw or a nerve, Wave can add 3D CBCT imaging too. That gives your dentist a clearer view underneath the gumline before treatment even begins.
From that scan, your dentist designs the crown or veneer on screen. The file goes straight to the in-house milling machine. The same-day crowns process mills, hardens, and glazes the restoration in the same building, often the same afternoon you walked in.
The traditional outsourced-lab route
A traditional crown or veneer starts the same way. Your dentist takes a scan or an impression. From there, the file or mold goes to an outside lab instead of staying in the office.
Your dentist fits you with a temporary crown or veneer while you wait. The lab typically needs one to two weeks to finish the permanent piece. You come back for a second visit once it arrives, and the temporary comes out.
This route is still the most common one across general dentistry. Most practices do not own the full scanning, imaging, and milling equipment that a fully in-house workflow needs, so sending work out remains the default for many dentists. That is not a mark against those practices. Building an in-house lab means investing in an intraoral scanner, a milling unit, and a sintering furnace, all under one roof, and plenty of well-run clinics choose not to make that investment.
The result for the patient is the same either way in one respect: a real, custom-made restoration. What differs is how many separate appointments it takes to get there, and how long a compromised tooth sits under a temporary covering in the meantime.
Same-day route vs. lab route, side by side
| Wave’s digital, in-house route | Traditional outsourced-lab route | |
| Visits needed | Usually one | Usually two |
| Total timeline | Same day, in most cases | Two to three weeks |
| Temporary restoration | Often skipped entirely | Worn for one to two weeks |
| Who finishes the piece | Wave’s own team, in the office | An outside lab, offsite |
| Imaging used | iTero scanning, plus CBCT when needed | Scan or impression only |
| Materials used | Ceramic, milled and glazed to match | Ceramic, fabricated by the lab |
Is one option actually more accurate than the other?
Not automatically. A well-run lab and a well-run in-house system both aim for the same fit and shade match. What changes is who controls each step, and how quickly a problem gets caught. A lab technician working from a scan or a mold never sees your mouth directly, while the dentist who examined you designs the in-house restoration personally. That difference shows up most clearly at the very first step of either process, the scan itself.
A digital scan replaces the physical impression that can shift or distort before it ever reaches a lab. When Dr. Joel Gaudet designs the restoration himself, on the same scan he just took, there is no handoff. The person who examined your mouth is the same person shaping the final piece, from the first image to the finished crown.
What the full digital stack changes, not just the timeline
A single scanner speeds up one step. Wave combines iTero scanning, CBCT imaging, and in-house milling into one connected process. That is a different thing than owning one piece of equipment on its own.
That combination matters most on cases with more going on. A crown near a nerve. A veneer plan involving several teeth. A patient who wants to see a 3D smile preview before committing to treatment. Fewer practices in South Surrey and White Rock run all three pieces together, which is part of what a fully digital visit at Wave actually gives you access to.
Is faster the same thing as lower quality?
No, and Wave Dentistry does not treat it that way. The practice’s own crowns page states a crown can last up to 15 years with proper care. That figure applies whether the crown came from Wave’s in-house lab or an outside one.
Published survey data backs this up more broadly. Most general dentists who use chairside CAD/CAM systems rate the resulting restorations as at least as good as lab-fabricated ones. Faster, in this case, describes the timeline. It does not describe a shortcut on the finished piece.
Does a temporary crown or veneer carry any real downside?
Mostly inconvenience, not danger. A temporary restoration can feel less secure. It can come loose with sticky foods. You may find yourself a little more careful about chewing on that side for a week or two.
None of that is harmful, and dentists fit temporaries every day without complication. It is simply an extra step the digital, in-house route usually skips. If a temporary does come loose between visits, call the office rather than waiting for your scheduled appointment.
Which route is right for your crown or veneer?
If your case is a good fit for same-day treatment, Wave’s iTero scanning, CBCT imaging, and in-house milling can take you from a damaged tooth to a finished crown or veneer in one visit. Some cases still call for the traditional route instead, and Dr. Joel Gaudet will tell you plainly if yours is one of them.
You can read about his training and hospital-based oral surgery experience on Wave Dentistry’s team page before your visit. Either way, in-house milling and glazing gives the practice more control over your finished crown or veneer than a mail-out lab relationship allows.
Booking a consultation in White Rock
Whether you need a crown, a veneer, or you are simply not sure yet which path fits your tooth, Dr. Joel Gaudet and the Wave Dentistry team can walk you through both options during a consultation. The practice has served White Rock and South Surrey families for more than 20 years, with the same-day route available for many crown and veneer cases today. Call Wave Dentistry at 604-538-9283 or request an appointment online to find out which route actually fits your case.
