BILLINGS - The sound of a dentist's drill is a sound that puts fear in the hearts of many. Most would agree the worst part of getting a cavity is the solution, a filling. But with new technology, your discomfort can at least be cut short. "It used to be we would take a mold and send it to a lab and then they would make the crown," says Dr. William Winterholler with Winterholler Dentistry in Billings. With the Cerec 3D Cad-cam Milling Unit, your dentist can do that right in the office, during just an hour long appointment. "I like the idea of coming in just one time," says patient Bernie Anderson who had a filling put in on Monday.

When a dentist relies on a lab to make the filling or crown, it means 2 appointments for the patient. In the first they do a sort-of fitting and put in a temporary filling, then schedule a second appointment to put the final one in. Now instead of taking a mold and shipping it off, the dentist uses a camera. Then the image is transferred to a machine in the next room where the filling is made in about 10 minutes.

Doctor Winterholler says another benefit is that the fit is often better because he's preparing the tooth, designing the filling and installing it all himself, cutting out the middle man.

Dr. Winterholler's office has been using the Cerec 3D system for about a year now. He says every year the software is updated, making the design process even faster.