Damaged teeth from fillings, cracks, chips and other issues can be at risk for further problems. In some cases, a filling or dental bonding is not enough to repair a tooth adequately, but a dental crown may be more than you need. Dental inlays and onlays are a general dentistry treatment designed to fill the gap in tooth repair between fillings or bonding and dental crowns. At Hollon Dental, we offer dental inlays and onlays for tooth repairs at our office in Mobile, AL.
What Are Inlays and Onlays?
Dental fillings repair a tooth by replacing lost tooth material with resin or amalgam that is placed into the crack, cavity or chip, molding the material to the tooth. Inlays and onlays also replace tooth material and protect the tooth, but they are made to fit on and over the tooth in a dental lab. Most inlays and onlays are made from porcelain materials that are color-matched to the tooth to blend perfectly with the patient’s smile.
An inlay is used on the top of the tooth, usually to replace large fillings or restore a broken tooth with the cusps of the tooth. Onlays are used in a similar fashion, but involve more than one of the cusps, usually larger and covering a bigger portion of the tooth. Both inlays and onlays can put less stress on the tooth for large areas of decay or damage to the tooth than fillings.
In the past, inlays and onlays required the same two-visit protocol as dental crowns. In the first visit, a mold is made of the tooth, and a temporary inlay/onlay is put on while the mold is sent to a dental lab. After the new inlay or onlay arrives from the dental lab, the patient would come back in to adhere the permanent inlay or onlay to the tooth. At Hollon Dental, we offer same day dental inlays and onlays using our CEREC technology, and we can create your new dental restoration on-site.
If you have a large cavity or tooth damage, our dentists at Hollon Dental may suggest dental inlays or onlays for repair. To find out more, contact our office in Mobile, AL, to schedule an appointment and ask about our same day dental inlays and onlays.