Inlays and Onlays
Metal fillings are not your healthiest choice for restorations, often expanding and contracting with temperature changes. This can cause cracking or allow bacteria to affect further decay. Many people have also been concerned about other types of health effects possibly caused by mercury amalgam fillings. Onlays and inlays make it possible to replace unsightly silver fillings with beautiful and healthy tooth colored restorations. We’ll design them to match your teeth, reviving your natural strength, wear, and function. An inlay is done when the tooth structure replaced is within the cusp tips of the tooth. If the damage is more extensive and the new structure covers the entire chewing surface, it is an onlay. With new materials such as pure porcelain, it really is finally possible to beautifully repair and restore the normal structure of your smile. While metal fillings are forced into the damaged area, often after extensive drilling, inlays and onlays are custom made in a laboratory and bonded to the surface of the damaged tooth. Because the repair is placed on the tooth, not forced into it, the tooth is not weekend or susceptible to the shifts and contractions that metal fillings can cause. This innovative approach makes it possible to make a stronger repair – able to withstand up to 75% more chewing force – while removing less tooth material. Both inlays and onlays may require more than one visit. During your first visit, we gently remove the damage and decay. We then make an impression of your damaged tooth so that an exact, custom fitted, and often custom color matched, restoration can be made. A temporary restoration is applied, and your impression is sent to the lab for the creation of your specially made repair. When your restoration is completed, you can return for the fitting and application. You’ll be surprised at how good this type of restoration looks and feels. It is virtually indistinguishable from your own teeth and will last through years of normal use. Eat and drink what you’d like with no fear of the kind of chipping, cracking or even drop-out regularly experienced with metal amalgam fillings.
If you already have mercury amalgam fillings or repairs, and are concerned about the health risks or tired of how dark and old metal fillings can make your smile look, inlays and onlays may be a solution for you. We can safely remove them and replace them with a beautiful, healthy, and natural looking inlay or onlay.
Talk to us today about how we can custom design a healthy and beautiful inlay or onlay for you, and see how we can restore the brilliance, youth, and function of your smile.
Dr. Mark Chase - Providing services in cosmetic dentistry and smile design to the area of Glendale, Arizona (AZ).
