Onlays and Inlays in West Chester, PA

An inlay can be a good solution for teeth that are too damaged to support a filling but not so damaged that they require a full dental crown. Similarly, an onlay is used when a tooth is badly damaged by decay or trauma that the whole top needs to be restored, including the cusps. At Thakkar Dental, we provide both inlays and onlays that are made of durable materials and are bonded to the tooth for a strong hold. They also look natural and won’t wear down nearby teeth. They can help strengthen weakened teeth by holding them together to prevent breakage.

Dental Inlays

An inlay is a custom-made filling for a tooth that needs restoration but is not damaged so badly that it would require a dental crown. We use an inlay when a patient’s tooth has damage that is too extensive for a filling to repair but still has a significant amount of structure intact that it would not require a more intense procedure like a crown or cap. If a patient has a cavity that is too large for a filling but not large enough for a full crown, we often use an inlay to restore the damaged area.

Benefits of Inlays

Inlays are a better material choice than fillings for many patients. That’s because the filling is often made from a metal alloy, which has certain disadvantages compared to dental ceramics. First, the metal filling is a good conductor of heat and cold, thus it can create a feeling of cold in the tooth once it is filled. These metals can corrode and break over time, leaving a damaged part of the tooth vulnerable to decay. The porcelain or ceramic of the inlay does not pose these issues. The ceramic is bonded to the tooth, making it even more durable than the tooth enamel itself!

Dental Onlays

An onlay is similar to an inlay except that it covers a greater area of a tooth than an inlay can usually cover. An onlay can cover one or more cusps on a tooth, while an inlay can usually only cover the biting surface of a tooth between the cusps. Onlays are often used to repair damage that cannot be repaired by an inlay but is not severe enough to require a full dental crown. They are essentially just larger versions of fillings. 

Advantages of Onlays

Onlays are fabricated in a lab and cemented onto the tooth as single units by your dentist. Made of solid materials like porcelain, composite resin, or gold alloys, an onlay is a good option when your tooth needs added strength and reinforcement or when there is too much damage or decay to support a filling. Onlays are particularly helpful when the cusps of the tooth have been damaged by wear from teeth grinding. The affected tooth's structure, function, and strength will be restored with a dentist's placement of an onlay.

Inlays and onlays are ideal for patients who want to maintain their oral health as much as possible without undergoing the more extensive and expensive process of receiving dental crowns. For the best dental treatment, contact Thakkar Dental at 1595 McDaniel Drive, Rts 3 and 352, West Chester, PA 19380, or call (610) 436-4512.