Inlay or Onlay Ontario, Canada

Porcelain inlays and onlays are a very aesthetic alternatives to composite fillings. They have a high degree of strength, and as such, are excellent for restoring weakened back teeth. Inlays and onlays protect and restore large portions of decayed, heavily restored tooth, or teeth under very heavy load (i.e. back teeth). Unlike crowns, they only cover a portion of the tooth, and are therefore more conservative on the amount of tooth preparation required. They are made with porcelain, customized to your natural tooth shade, and look like your natural tooth. Porcelain inlays and onlays are made from the same strong, tooth colored material that is used for crowns and bridgework. A customized shade makes them virtually undetectable. The main differences between tooth-colored composite restoration and inlay/onlays is that the latter are fabricated using a laboratory process and differing materials, thereby making them stronger and more durable.

 More durable than a filling, porcelain inlays are used to fill in the tooth or teeth when they are too decayed to take a filling. First, a mould of your mouth is taken and sent over to a dental laboratory to match perfectly. On your second visit, your dentist will remove your temporary fillings under a local anesthetic and ‘cement’ the porcelain inlays into the teeth, using a special bonding agent. A porcelain onlay is for greater damage and similar to a dental crown because its also designed to restore a tooth. A crown covers the entire chewing surface of the tooth and wraps around the entire tooth, all the way to the gum line. The Porcelain Onlay is more conservative. It covers only those parts of the tooth that are weak and doesnt reach the gumline.