Essential Information You Must Have about Inlays and Onlays
Are you aware when your teeth sustain damage from decay or injuries, there are remedies available to restore them? You may have heard about getting fillings or dental crowns to fill damages from tooth decay and injuries. However, it is likely you may never have heard about alternatives like dental inlays & onlays are also appropriate to restore teeth.
Generally, fillings help treat minor cavities, while crowns are beneficial when you have significant decay or a more extensive fracture to cover. Unfortunately, you may encounter a situation where a filling is insufficient and a dental crown too much to protect the damages. Dental inlays & Onlays are solutions to our dentist near you who recommends in these tricky situations when providing appropriate treatment to fill the gaps in your teeth. Dental inlays & Onlays are considerably more substantial than fillings but nonintrusive as dental crowns require reshaping of the teeth before restoration.
How Inlays & Onlays are Different from Each Other?
Inlays & Onlays have some differences between them explained hereunder for your understanding.
Inlays help fill cavities and holes in a tooth in the area between the cusps. Onlays, besides filling cavities in these spaces, also function over a larger area, including the thresholds. Onlays are comparable to dental crowns but do not cover the entire tooth’s surface. The materials helping make inlays & Onlays are identical, and the restorations also function similarly. However, they cover different areas of the tooth affected by decay to protect it correctly.
What are Inlays & Onlays in Dentistry?
Inlays are created and fitted on the chewing surface of the tooth damaged by decay or injury. Impressions of your teeth and the affected areas are sent to the dental lab by our dentist in Huntington, NY, for custom-creating your inlay. The inlay fits perfectly within the hollow of the tooth without affecting the cusps.
When taking impressions of your tooth, our dentist matches the color of the tooth as best possible to ensure the inlay is not visible when it is placed in your mouth. Composite material or porcelain helps make the inlay making them more robust and durable than conventional fillings. The customization of the inlay makes it more expensive, but they are also durable. Our Huntington dentist recommends this option when they feel fillings are inappropriate to strengthen the surrounding tooth and the cavity requires more durable materials to fortify it.
Onlays help restore decay and damage to the cusps of the tooth beside the biting surface. Dentists select an onlay when a cavity is extensive to fill with conventional fillings like silver amalgam, or the tooth is prone to cracking due to weakness. An onlay strengthens the tooth besides protecting the decaying area. Unlike inlays, the area covered by Onlays includes the cusps and the space between them.
What is the Procedure for Getting Dental Inlays & Onlays?
If you desire dental inlays & Onlays in Huntington, NY, you must endure the tooth preparation procedure similar to getting fillings. Our dentist drills out the cavity and cleans up the area after providing you with local anesthesia in the mouth. In addition, you receive temporary restorations in the prepared area of your tooth because our dentist takes impressions for the dental laboratory to customize your repair. As a result, a significant portion of your tooth structure is preserved when getting an onlay, unlike with dental crowns requiring extensive tooth structure removal.
Are Dental Inlays & Onlays Better in Functionality?
Several factors determine whether dental inlays & Onlays are better than fillings or crowns. Our Huntington dentist determines an onlay is appropriate if the restoration doesn’t have to be aggressive like a dental crown. The determination ensures the preservation of tooth structure. However, you must deal with our skilled dentist because Onlays are challenging to fit.
Inlays are undoubtedly better than dental fillings and can restore large cavities while remaining durable. Inlays strengthen the tooth and are not prone to problems like silver amalgam fillings vulnerable to expansion or contract due to temperature. Inlays significantly strengthen the tooth, helping it endure 75 percent more additional chewing forces than it could before the restoration. Unfortunately, inlays & Onlays both require multiple visits to our dentist’s office, unlike fillings completed in one visit. Inlays and Onlays are also expensive, cost nearly $1200 per tooth, and are covered by dental insurers. Therefore if our Huntington dentist recommends these restorations for your teeth, welcome the suggestion because it provides a durable alternative to fillings and crowns.
Conclusion
If you are searching for Inlays & Onlays in Huntington, NY, you can schedule an appointment with Smile Huntington for hassle-free dental care services.