Porcelain inlay
An inlay filling is a modern dental technique that successfully replaces traditional fillings. It is a good alternative to direct restorations made of composite, amalgam, or glass ionomer. Inlays are used in the treatment of mechanically damaged teeth, as well as in filling extensive cavities created, for example, during root canal treatment.
What is an inlay filling?
An inlay filling is a porcelain restoration that partially replaces the natural crown of a tooth. An inlay is placed inside the tooth in such a way that at least two of its surfaces are in contact with the inner part of the real tooth's crown.
An inlay filling is used in molars or premolars when a tooth has suffered too much damage to hold a basic filling, but is not damaged enough to require a crown. In practice, this means that the use of inlays applies to teeth such as premolars (fours, fives) and molars (sixes, sevens, and very rarely eights).
Inlay fillings are durable and resistant to wear. Inlay restorations strengthen the tooth and give it a more aesthetic appearance than a traditional filling. The dentist can very precisely match the color shade so that its color is identical to the tooth in which it is placed and is virtually indistinguishable from the neighboring teeth.
What does the Inlay restoration procedure look like?
The most important thing is that the tooth in which the inlay filling is to be placed is healthy. Therefore, before the filling is placed, the tooth is treated and cleaned in the same way as is done for traditional fillings. A plastic material is placed into the prepared tooth crown to obtain an impression. The impression then goes to a prosthetic laboratory, which fabricates the actual inlay filling. Until the finished inlay returns from the prosthetic laboratory, the dentist places a temporary filling in the tooth.
The finished inlay, individually tailored on the basis of the impression, is placed in the tooth crown using a special dental cement.
The inlay filling procedure is longer and more labor-intensive than making a regular filling, but it has very many advantages.
Advantages of inlay fillings:
durability (even up to 10 years)
excellent aesthetics
very resistant to abrasion
do not discolor
accurately replicate natural teeth
