Inlays and onlays restore the function and health of smiles in West Hills Los Angeles, California
Most people have heard of dental fillings and dental crowns, but the majority of people are not quite familiar with options of inlays and onlays. Inlays and onlays are alternative treatment options when dental decay has caused more damage to the tooth to be restored by a simple filling and is not large enough to need a crown. Even though these options may be less familiar to the public, everyone should learn about these conservative yet versatile restorations. Inlays and onlays are custom-made dental restorations which are a great replacement for the missing tooth structure due to decay and/or fracture and can be named as a partial crown where only the broken or decayed part of the tooth is prepared and the healthy part remains intact. Just like in the Goldilocks story, inlays and onlays can be the solution in many cases that is “just right”!
At Royal Dental Practice, Dr Shoffet performs an in-depth evaluation of each individuals’ teeth to make sure the appropriate solution is recommended to fit any patient specific needs, which may be an inlay or an onlay.
What are inlays and onlays?
Inlays and onlays are similar to dental fillings in that they restore a portion of the tooth that is decayed or damaged, and they are similar to dental crowns in that they are made from a durable dental material – typically porcelain or composite resin or gold. These are custom-made after the tooth is prepared by your skilled dentist followed by dental impressions.
The difference between inlays and onlays
The key difference between inlays and onlays is how much of the tooth it covers:
- An inlay fits within the hollow of the tooth but does not affect the cusps (the pointy parts at the top of posterior teeth)
- An onlay repairs damage to the tooth cusps as well as the overall biting surface and is sometimes called a “partial crown” because it works very similarly but does not cover the entire surface of the tooth
What to expect with inlays and onlays
Getting inlays or onlays normally takes two appointments. In the first appointment, we prepare your tooth by gently drilling out and disinfecting the decayed areas. Then, we take dental impressions of the tooth so that your inlay or onlay can be custom-fabricated in a laboratory, and then we place a temporary inlay or onlay on the tooth to protect it and keep you comfortable while your restoration is being made. Once your inlay or onlay is ready, you will come back into the office and we will “try it on” to ensure it has the perfect fit, making any minor adjustments needed, and then bond it onto the tooth to restore its natural shape and function and protect it from further damage or decay. The results are outstanding.
Your partners in oral health
At Royal Dental Practice, we are devoted to providing personalized care based on every patient’s unique needs, and have particular expertise in providing care for older patients. To schedule your appointment at our West Hills Los Angeles, California dental practice, call us today at (818) 334-6655 or book your appointment online!
Patient Onlay Restoration at Royal Dental Practice - Dr. Roya Shoffet
Hello, everyone. Today I want to explain the journey of this tooth that had a very old restoration and an old amalgam. You can see some decay on the proximal side and abrasion.
This filling is probably from a long time ago, maybe when he was a teenager, and after taking the X-ray, we realized some decay was forming on the two sides of the tooth.
As you can see, there is open contact between this and the adjacent tooth, contributing to the fact that the patient’s tooth is decaying and that there was food impaction.
During his last visit, we removed the amalgam. When preparing the tooth, we realized direct filling was not an option as the extent of the cavity was beyond receiving a regular direct filling.
Therefore the next option would have been reinforced porcelain Onlays.
Once we clean the tooth, you see the dentin is caved and stained. This is the point we decided that the tooth no longer needs a direct filling but an Onlay.
We prepared the tooth for an Onlay, and today is the day of the delivery.
We ended up isolating the tooth, the tooth is adjacent to a canine, and the other was a rotated tooth, but look at the beautiful Onlay straight out after the cementation.
Here is the final result after we have polished and adjusted inclusion and applied sealer on it, and as you can see, it’s a perfect restoration. The contact is now closed and is no longer an open contact.
The patient loved it. I loved it. Congratulations!
Visit us at Royal Dental Practice to restore teeth function with Onlays.
Gone with the wind old black fillings – Royal Dental Practice
A successful Porcelain crown and porcelain onlay – Dr Roya Shoffet
This is how the tooth started day one, and the cavities were underneath the old amalgam fillings, and the patient had crack lines and all sort of a problem with it. We have prepared it, this a
model that you can actually see the model is prepared. Today is when we wanted to deliver it. We prepared the tooth, and it’s all in rubber – it’s all protected and this is the final result. If you have one of those ugly looking feelings which is probably 100 years old and nobody has ever attended to it, just give us a call i can make them look like new, and make them brand new too. It is unbelievable the result you cannot even detect the margins of the tooth previously versus the tooth now, and hopefully it will be a very successful and permanent restoration for this patient. Love to share it with you – have a great weekend!
A case of porcelain onlays at Royal Dental Practice
Hello everyone, today’s case I want to present to you is a gentleman who is a great patient of ours.
Last week I noticed that he has an old amalgam and he has a recurrent decay at the margins of the amalgam, and there was a crack line.
Apparently, he bit into something really hard and was experiencing pain upon biting. That is a sign of cracked tooth syndrome.
My concern was that we would need to make a full coverage crown and possibly a crown lengthening gum surgery because his bite is really deep. So he would have needed extensive and costly treatments.
This is where you can see the recurrent decay. Today, I removed all the old filling and decay and discovered I can do what we call a porcelain onlay.
Onlay meaning the weak points of the tooth. These two walls of the tooth that I needed; are what we call the chewing cusps.
By eliminating the risk of fracture on this tooth. It’s going to be an extensive onlay.
I eliminated the crack line present at the facial surface of the tooth, I did some build-up here to create a smooth surface for the onlay, and we are ready to take impressions and send them to the lab.
I saved him from all those unnecessary treatments, and porcelain onlay is going to be the magic of the day.
He’s doing wonderfully, and we’re ready to take the impressions.
Call us at Royal Dental Practice for all your dental needs.
Onlays and inlays can transform your smile and your life!
Welcome to Royal Dental Practice. I’m Dr. Roya Shoffet from West Hills. Today, I like to highlight the transformation power of cosmetic dentistry that gives you confidence and enhances your smile. Let’s share these highlights.
On this particular one, you see the patient presented with a large decay, broken down decay. And on this one, I call myself a queen of onlays and inlays because not many dentists offer this kind of conservative procedure, and it’s hard to do. It’s very meticulous preparation that is needed, and the patient will be very pleased once they receive their onlays because it seems like they’re born again. And I will show you a few representing of these onlays photos. This patient had amalgam fillings and we replaced them with porcelain onlays. And this one is the same thing. This is actually the prep; you see, with some medication on, this is the final result, and this one, you’ll see the patient had old silver filling from way back, and she had a broken amalgam right at the contact, and we replaced it with two final restorations of porcelain inlays and onlays. And the same way, on this one, you can see decay, chipped amalgam, cracked tooth, cracked lines, and was replaced by porcelain onlays. On this particular patient, we had a cracked line, extended decay, and we replaced it again with the porcelain onlay. This one required, it had recurrent decay around the old amalgam. So, this is a large restoration. You can barely see the actually, the borders of the onlays.
FAQs
Is an onlay better than a crown?
An Onlay and a crown are both types of dental restorations, but they differ in how much tooth coverage is needed. Dentists recommend onlays as a more conservative option when a tooth has significant decay, fracture and partial loss of structure, as they preserve more of the remaining tooth..
A crown fully covers the tooth structure and is usually recommended to protect a severely damaged or weakened tooth, such as after a root canal. An onlay covers a portion of the tooth, while the crown covers the entire tooth.
How long does an onlay last?
The Longevity of any restoration depends on multiple factors, such as how careful you are with your diet selection, but the truth is that onlay remains a great conservative and long-lasting option.
Can an onlay fall off?
Truthfully, any dental restoration can fail or come off if the dentist does not follow the prerequisite criteria specific to that procedure. An onlay once cemented in the tooth structure, is bonded to the underneath tooth structure, and the bond ability of the filling material underneath an onlay depends on the material underneath it. Therefore, the expert dentist will prepare the tooth diligently and select the ideal material under the onlay to ensure the success of an onlay.
What’s the difference between inlay and onlay?
The primary distinction between an onlay and an inlay is that the onlay only covers the cusps of the tooth, while the inlay fills the area between the cusp.
When is an inlay needed?
Dentists recommend inlays for several reasons, such as moderate to deep decay on back teeth, large fillings, and weakened tooth structures. Whenever a direct filling cannot adequately restore the tooth, an indirect restoration, like an inlay or onlay fabricated outside the mouth, becomes necessary.
