How Do Inlays and Onlays Restore Damaged Teeth?
Inlays and Onlays are not standard restorative dental therapies and remain unknown to many. However, they can help your oral health considerably. Similar to dental crowns, these customized restorations fit on top of your teeth. However, inlays and Onlays are more conservative than crowns and require minimal alteration of your teeth before placement. Therefore if your teeth have damage that needs restorations but is too extensive for a filling but insufficient for a crown, dentists recommend using inlays and Onlays as alternative therapeutic options.
About inlays and Onlays
Inlays and Onlays are customized for the molar chewing surfaces. The dental laboratory fabricating the restoration matches them to your remaining teeth. Inlays and Onlays help maintain your natural bite alignment. Inlays are similar fillings, unlike Onlays and rest between the cusps of your teeth. On the other hand, Onlays cover the cusps and other parts of your teeth.
Do You Qualify for Inlays and Onlays?
Inlays and Onlays helped treat dental decay. For example, if you have an extensive cavity needing more support than provided by a filling, inlays or Onlays help cover the decayed area of your tooth to restore its functionality. However, if your tooth has endured significant damage that is challenging to restore with inlays and Onlays in Colombia, SC, you might need a full dental crown to fix the damage. However, dentists can provide inlays and Onlays to repair weakened and cracked teeth.
If you want to understand whether you qualify for inlays and Onlays, the best option is to get your damaged tooth examined by the Columbia dentist and allow them to determine which restorative option best suits your needs. The dentist will take x-rays of your tooth to determine the severity of the damage and evaluate the health of your teeth.
Expectations When Getting Inlays or Onlays
If the dentist in Colombia determines inlays and Onlays are suitable for you, expect them to remove the tooth’s decayed portion and reshape it. Some tooth enamel removal is necessary to make sufficient space for restoration. The dentist impressions your tooth after the reshaping for lab technicians to fabricate your inlays or Onlays. Tooth-colored resin or porcelain is used to manufacture these restorations to ensure they blend naturally with your smile. The dental lab will work with the dentist in Colombia to ensure your repairs matches the shape of your natural tooth to preserve your bite alignment.
Benefits of Inlays and Onlays
Inlays and Onlays offer many benefits, some of which are detailed below for your reference.
Inlays and Onlays remain in your teeth for longer than fillings or crowns and are more aesthetically pleasing. The restorations can last for approximately three decades with proper care and regular attention from your dentist. However, dentists do not guarantee their longevity because many factors can necessitate needing replacements faster. Therefore you must maintain excellent dental hygiene and receive treatments for conditions like bruxism that cause you to grind in clench your teeth when sleeping.
Inlays and Onlays help strengthen your weakened tooth to prevent further structural damage. However, these restorations are more unlimited than alternatives like dental crowns needing extensive tooth structure removal beneficial to restore teeth without significant tooth structure remaining.
When getting inlays and Onlays, the decay removal process from your tooth is uncomfortable, but the dentist ensures you don’t feel any pain by providing anesthesia to numb the area around the affected tooth. In addition, as inlays and Onlays are conservative and tinier than crowns, the restorative procedure preserves more portion of your tooth.
If you qualify for inlays and Onlays for restoring your tooth, you must schedule a couple of appointments with Drs Ellis, Green, and Jenkins to get your tooth restorations. Inlays and Onlays are indirect restorations fabricated in dental laboratories after preparing your tooth and taking impressions. You might find scheduling two appointments with the dentists uncomfortable, but you will do better by understanding you are receiving a restoration in your tooth that remains in it for a lengthy period with proper care by restoring your tooth functionality without affecting aesthetics. Therefore if you are a candidate for inlays and Onlays over fillings or crowns, consider yourself fortunate because you are receiving a restoration that doesn’t compromise your tooth structure significantly.
If you have a damaged tooth with a cavity too large for fillings and insignificant for crowns, We Care Dental offers you inlays and Onlays to restore the tooth without needing extensive tooth structure removal. Consult the practice today to plan your tooth restoration using inlays and Onlays from them.