Our Holland dentist may recommend as alternatives to direct fillings and dental crowns. Inlays and onlays are called “indirect” dental restorations because they are made in a lab before being bonded to your teeth.
Unlike silver amalgam fillings, inlays and onlays don’t expand and contract with fluctuating temperatures. This means you don’t have to worry about your inlay or onlays shifting.
Candidates for Inlays and Onlays
If you have a cavity, our dentist will need to drill out the decayed tooth matter and restore the tooth by filling the hole left behind. If you have tooth decay, your dentist may recommend dental inlays or onlays as an alternative to fillings and crowns.
If you want to save as much of your natural tooth enamel as possible, you’ll want to consider inlays or onlays. Many of our patients prefer inlays and onlays to dental crowns because they are less invasive. To prepare your tooth for an inlay or onlay, we only remove the decayed tooth matter. Dental crowns, on the other hand, are designed to cover the entire visible portion of your tooth above the gum line, which means our dentist has to remove more natural tooth enamel to make room.
How Inlays and Onlays Work
The inlay or onlay procedure takes one trip to our dental practice. During your appointment, our dentist will drill out the cavity before taking impressions of your teeth. Our cosmetic dentist will then make sure that the size, fit, and color of your dental restoration is perfect before bonding it to the surface of your tooth. Inlays and onlays look and function like natural tooth enamel.
Learn More
Our Holland, MI, cosmetic dentist always strives to help patients achieve beautiful healthy smiles. If you are interested in learning if you are a candidate for inlays and onlays, give us a call at (616) 396-7524, or contact us online.
