What You Need To Know About Dental Inlays and Onlays
What are Dental Inlays and What Can Inlays Do?
Tooth decay has different stages. Even in the same mouth, no two cavities are the same. To treat your cavities, dentists use either fillings or dental crowns.
Fillings are employed when the cavity is mild, and further danger to the tooth and gums can be prevented. However, when the cavity becomes severe, a dental crown is used to cover the tooth.
What happens now if the cavity is not mild and still not severe? Do you have to wait till it becomes unbearable? No, you shouldn’t. That is where inlays and onlays become the answer for your teeth.
Some people don’t catch a cavity when it first erupts. You might not notice it till it begins to cause severe pain and affects your overall well-being. Some cavities are visible when you open your mouth, which can affect your social life, making you lose confidence and self-esteem.
For people who have cavities, forestalling further damage to their teeth and restoring their overall wellbeing is the priority, and there are many options to get this done.
- Traditional Fillings: Fillings are one of the most common types of restorative dentistry. If you visit a dentist in Gahanna to get fillings, the dentist will first remove the decayed part of your tooth. That is done to make sure that the bacteria responsible for tooth decay is entirely removed.
- After removing the decayed portion of the tooth, the dentist will replace it with composite resin. The resin will have the color of your tooth and will perform the functions of a tooth. Traditional fillings last for a long time, so you won’t have to worry about coming for a refill anytime soon. However, they are only used for small cavities.
- Dental Inlays: Dental Inlays in Gahanna are used when the cavity is too big for a traditional filling. The inlays are made of ceramic porcelain and are constructed to match the shape and size of the cavity. First, the dentist will clean the cavity in the tooth, leaving a hole that must be filled in.
- Once the cavity has been cleared, the dentist will attach the inlay on the tooth and bond them together using special dental cement. When they first came into use, inlays were made of metals. The ceramic porcelain now used to create inlays are better because they are hard to notice, they last longer, and they do not wear quickly.
- Onlays: Onlays are very similar to inlays. They are molded to fit the cavity and are also made of ceramic porcelain. However, they are used when the cavity is too big for a filling or inlay to cover and too small for a dental crown.
- Another difference between inlays and onlays is that onlays cover the outer part of the tooth (inlays only fill the inner cusps of the tooth).
If you want to get inlays in Gahanna, the dentist will have to fabricate the porcelain in a laboratory. So, an impression of your tooth will be collected and sent to the lab. That is done so that the porcelain will fit the size and shape of your tooth.
What Can Inlays Do?
Inlays are solid and durable. They can last for a very long time without shifting from the tooth or breaking down. Unlike metals, the porcelain used to produce inlays makes them look very natural and attractive.
Why Do I Need Inlays?
If you have a cavity too big for traditional fillings and too small for dental crowns, then you should talk to your dentist about Inlays. There are several qualifying factors that they will go over with you to make sure that this is the correct treatment plan as you move forward.
Once you have repaired a damaged tooth, it is very important to maintain proper oral hygiene to ensure that you do not have another damaged tooth that could have been prevented with proper care. Brush and floss regularly, and be sure to schedule and make your dental appointments a priority.