Restore Your Teeth With Inlays & Onlays

These types of restorations are used to repair decayed or damaged teeth. They are recommended when your tooth needs more support than a regular filling and are made of a ceramic material to match the colour of your tooth.

Inlays are recommended to replace the inside biting portion of a tooth when the healthy structure remains on the outside biting portion of the tooth. Onlays are used to replace broken cusps or to add strength to compromised areas around the perimeter of the tooth.

You may just require a crown, which just covers more of the surface of the tooth,

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Questions & Answers

what is the difference between an onlay and an inlay?

An inlay is made to fit in between the cusps (small points or ridges) of a back tooth (molar or premolar), and it covers only a small region of the biting surface of the tooth. If the restoration covers one or more of the cusps, it’s an onlay.

Why would I need this treatment?

When a tooth has suffered damage (from decay or trauma, for example), and the affected area is too large to fill with a simple filling — but not large enough to need a full crown (cap) — then an inlay or onlay may be just right. Both of these procedures are considered “indirect fillings,” because the restoration itself is custom-fabricated in a laboratory and then bonded to the tooth in the dental office.

How are they applied?

The dentist will remove the decayed area of the tooth and will then make a mold of the tooth with putty. They will use the mold as a means to create the inlay or onlay. Once it is created, the dentist will check to make sure it fits properly, and they will then bond it to the tooth.

How long do they last?

Another one of the inlays and onlays FAQs people need to know is the durability. They are actually very durable. In fact, they have been known to last for decades.

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