Inlays and onlays are regarded as ‘indirect’ fillings since they are fabricated outside a patient’s mouth before being bonded to a tooth. The procedures for inlay as well as onlay are same. Inlays can be made from a tooth-colored material like ceramic/porcelain or special dental composite. They are often used to remove unsightly ugly fillings which need to be replaced using tooth-colored inlays before bonding to the teeth.
Onlays can fit within the mouth, but often extend up to a back tooth’s chewing surface for supplanting one or more cusps. Earlier, they were made of gold, but these days most patients prefer opting for a tooth-colored inlay. Creating an onlay from ceramic and porcelain, allows the restoration to be bonded to a tooth. Such a bonding process can actually enhance the strength of the tooth.
When should you opt for inlays & onlays?
Dental inlays are prescribed by doctors when extra support is required which a dental filling can’t provide. In contrast to a crown, less tooth structure is removed. Therefore dental inlays are a more conventional restoration. Dental onlays offer more extensive coverage. So, they are often called ‘’partial crowns’’ and are the last option suggested by a dentist before a crown.
What type of treatments do we offer?
At Rapha Dental Centre, we prepare a patient’s tooth before starting off with the process of dental restoration process. Here are the steps we adapt to perform a treatment related to dental inlay/onlay-
- We remove any part of the teeth which has a bad structure using a dental drill.
- A porcelain inlay or inlay is then created in the lab to fit within the newly created area.
- We then reconstruct and restore the tooth using composite or amalgam which is molded and shaped inside the mouth.