Our dentist may recommend inlays and onlays as alternatives to direct fillings and dental crowns. Inlays and onlays are called “indirect” dental restorations because they are made in a lab before being bonded to your teeth.
Unlike silver amalgam fillings, inlays and onlays don’t expand and contract with fluctuating temperatures.
This means that you don’t have to worry about your inlay or onlay shifting and letting in bacteria. Continue reading to learn more!
Candidates for Inlays & Onlays
If you have a cavity, our dentist will need to drill out the decayed tooth matter and restore the tooth by filling the hole left behind. If you have tooth decay, your dentist may recommend dental inlay or onlay as an alternative to fillings and crowns.
If you want to save as much of your natural tooth enamel as possible, you’ll want to consider inlays or onlays. Many of our patients prefer inlays and onlays to dental crowns because they are less invasive. To prepare your tooth for an inlay or onlay, we only remove the decayed tooth matter. Dental crowns, on the other hand, are designed to cover the entire visible portion of your tooth above the gum line, which means our dentist has to remove more natural tooth enamel to make room.
How Inlays & Onlays Work
The dental inlay or onlay procedure takes two trips to our office. During your first appointment, our dentist will drill out the cavity before taking impressions of your teeth. These impressions will then be sent to the dental lab where your custom tooth restoration will be made.
When you come back for your second appointment, our dentist will make sure that the size, fit, and color of your dental inlay or onlay is perfect before bonding it to the surface of your tooth. Inlays and onlays look and function like natural tooth enamel.
Dr. Samona and Dr. Loprete are dentists in Bloomfield Hills MI. To learn if you’re a candidate for inlays and onlays, call (248) 335-4427