Inlay/Onlay Restorations

When you’re scheduled for a dental inlay, we start by anesthetizing, or numbing, your mouth. We then prepare the tooth in much the same way we would for a standard filling by drilling the tooth to remove the decayed portion from the sound tooth structure. Once your tooth has been prepared to our satisfaction, we make an impression to send to the dental lab to have the inlay made. A dental inlay is fabricated from composite resin or porcelain to match the look and feel of your natural teeth. The restoration often resembles a jigsaw puzzle piece and should completely blend into the natural tooth structure. However, for an increased fee, you may also request gold inlays.

We generally require you to wear a temporary filling to hold and protect the inlay area until your restoration has been fabricated. Once it’s ready, you come back in to have the inlay cemented in place. The nearly invisible dental restoration repairs the tooth’s chewing surface while helping to protect it from further decay.

Why You Might Need Dental Inlays.

When a tooth has become damaged, either from decay or injury, an inlay may be required to restore health and strength to the natural tooth structure. We use dental inlays and onlays on molar and premolars when there’s too much damage for a filling but not enough damage to require a crown.

One of the top reasons you may need a dental inlay is poor oral hygiene. When you don’t properly brush and floss daily with products that help fight tooth decay, it could lead to plaque buildup and active cavities that permanently damage areas in a tooth. However, practicing good oral hygiene won’t protect a tooth from becoming broken or fractured due to an injury to the mouth.