Inlays and Onlays

In the modern day the restorative material used is determined on the size of the cavity that exists are removing the fractures, decay, old restorations. The basic options available for restoring your teeth are

Compostie (plastic) fillings - these are generally done when you lose less than 40% of your tooth structure. They last a very long time. Research shows that if you lose 40% of your tooth you lose 90% of its strength.
Ceramic inlays (porcelain) - these restorations are used when you lose about 40% to 60% of your tooth structure. They are much stronger than the plastic restorations and are made in a laboratory. They require two visits to do. The first visit, we remove the decay, old restoration and fractures if any. An impression is taken and sent to a laboratory. In the meantime a temporary filling is placed. In the second visit, the temporary restoration is removed and the definitive porcelain inlay is placed.
Crowns - these are generally done when you have lost more than 60% of your tooth structure. This is there is not much toot structure to hold a filling or an inlay and therefore you need to cover the whole tooth to protect it from breaking or fracturing.

Before	After

Inlays and onlays are an excellent way to help solve a problem caused by moderate decay or

Any level of decay on a portion of any tooth
Need for a long-term, durable restoration
Desire to limit the amount of healthy tooth structure removed
Need to strengthen and reinforce a tooth

Decay is removed and cleaned from the tooth and a highly accurate impression is made of the prepared surface. This impression is used to create a model of the tooth that is then sent to our laboratory to create a porcelain (tooth coloured) restoration called an inlay or onlay. The inlay or onlay is then cemented into the prepared surface of the tooth.

An inlay covers only one to three surfaces of the tooth and is used to restore a small amount of tooth An onlay actually covers one or more cusps (the chewing surface of the tooth.)

Porcelain offers a fine alternative to other tooth restoration materials. Made to perfectly match the shade and shape of your teeth, it's durable, strong, and virtually undetectable.

Inlays and onlays are incredibly strong due to the fact that they are created in a laboratory. This protects the tooth from fracturing and actually strengthens the tooth. In addition, inlays and onlays fit almost perfectly into the prepared surface of the tooth, reducing the size of the seam between the restoration and the tooth. This helps keep decay from eventually occurring under the restoration.

Inlays and onlays require the removal of only decayed areas of the tooth, leaving the more healthy tooth structure intact. This can help prevent the expense of root canal therapy in the future.

If you would like more information on this subject, please contact Smile Concepts directly by clicking here or ringing 02 9267 7777