When Is It Best to Choose an Inlay or Onlay Instead of a Traditional Filling?

You’re at your regular dental exam, and your dentist tells you they’ve found tooth decay in your mouth that needs restoration to prevent further damage from occurring.

In other words, you have a cavity and you need a filling. Or is that what you really need?

Though most of us use the word filling to refer to fixing a cavity, dentists can use several different options to restore your tooth, including traditional fillings, inlays, and onlays.

At Portrait Dental, we use all these treatments to get you back to the best possible oral health. Here’s more information about when it’s best to choose an inlay or onlay instead of a traditional filling.

What are inlays and onlays?

A filling is the most common form of dental restoration. When you have a small cavity or hole in your tooth, Dr. Minh Nguyen will remove the damaged or infected portion, replace it with a filling, and seal it to prevent further damage. The filling is usually an amalgam (mix of metals) or composite material. It’s a cheap and effective way to treat damage, but it can weaken the strength of your tooth by up to 50%.

A dental inlay is a pre-molded filling made in a laboratory that fits precisely into the grooves of your teeth. It’s usually made of a solid piece of material such as porcelain, ceramic, or gold. It doesn’t shrink over time like a filling can, and it can increase the strength of your tooth.

A dental onlay repairs a larger area of damage that has spread to the biting surface of your tooth. It covers the higher points around the edges of your tooth. Onlays are also custom-made to exactly fit your teeth, which makes them more durable and a better match for your natural teeth than a filling.

When should you use each one?

With all three of these options, Dr. Nguyen will use the first part of your procedure to clean out the infected cavity. Once he has a good handle on the extent of the damage, he can determine which treatment will be most effective for your situation.

A filling is best when the cavity is confined to a small area in the center of your tooth — it will keep the cavity from getting bigger. An inlay is needed when the cavity inside your tooth is larger and deeper. Using a filling in this situation would weaken your tooth too much, so the inlay fits into the grooves of your tooth and provides much-needed strength and durability.

If the damage to your tooth extends to the cusps (the area you use for biting), an onlay will be the best solution. This damage is more extensive, and an onlay will cover the larger area well. They also won’t require your dentist to remove a significant portion of your tooth structure like a crown would.

If you’re looking for a dentist to maintain your oral health, our team at Portrait Dental would be happy to help. Just call our Katy, Texas, office at 501-381-1621 or use our online scheduler to choose your own appointment time!