Dental inlays and onlays are a way to restore teeth that are too badly decayed or chipped for fillings.
They are durable, strong and indistinguishable from your natural teeth and considered a more conservative option to a crown. They are most commonly used for the back teeth of your mouth.
Inlays and onlays strengthen the tooth structure and are custom made to fit exactly into your tooth cavity and are bonded into place, making them strong and hard wearing.
Inlays are bonded within the centre of the tooth, within the cusps (the raised points on your teeth) or rounded edges of your tooth. Onlays are like inlays, but they are used when the damage to your teeth covers one or more than one cusp or covers the entire chewing surface of your tooth.
Restore damaged teeth elegantly
You can sometimes have inlays or onlays instead of fillings to repair damaged teeth. Fillings are soft to begin with and are moulded in the tooth which has been shaped to take and hold the filling.
Inlays and onlays are made outside the mouth, usually in a dental laboratory, and then glued to the tooth in the surgery.
An inlay sits in a hole in the tooth. An onlay sits on the tooth and builds up its shape. Inlays and onlays can be made in tooth-coloured porcelain, gold or a white filling material called composite.
Different materials are suitable for different parts of the mouth and different parts of the teeth. Inlays and onlays are strong and can last longer than fillings. They are especially suitable for the chewing surfaces of back teeth and for large repairs to front teeth, where it can be difficult to make a white filling look natural. Your dentist can match the colour to your other teeth.
Restorations that are virtually invisible
Our high-quality inlays and onlays will blend in beautifully with your natural tooth colour, creating a restoration that is virtually invisible.
Preparing your tooth for an inlay takes away less of the natural material than a crown does. Inlays can be an especially effective treatment option in areas where heavy chewing occurs, to provide a strong, hard wearing restoration.
If the damage to your tooth is extensive, a dental crown may be a better option. However, as crowns require a larger amount of tooth structure to be removed, dental inlays and onlays are a much-preferred treatment.
Our team is here to help and guide you through your options.
