Inlays & Onlays in Bethlehem, PA

An inlay or onlay is a laboratory-made porcelain filling for a tooth that needs more than a regular plastic filling but not a full crown. At Always About Smiles, our Bethlehem, PA dental office, I design inlays and onlays that replace only the damaged part of the tooth and leave the rest of it in place.

When a tooth is beyond restoring with a simple composite bonded filling, inlay or onlay, a crown may be recommended to save the tooth. An inlay or onlay sits between the two. Where the walls of the tooth are still sound but the biting surface has gone, I can replace just that part with porcelain made to fit it, and leave the sound tooth alone.

An inlay replaces the biting surface within the cusps of the tooth, the nooks and crannies in the middle. An onlay goes further and covers one or more of the cusps themselves, which is why it's sometimes called a partial crown. In contrast to complete crowns, which require a large portion of the tooth surface to be trimmed, onlays and inlays only need the damaged part of the tooth to be trimmed.

Two visits, two to three weeks apart. At the first I remove the damage, take an impression and fit a temporary; the laboratory builds the inlay or onlay to my design, and at the second visit it's bonded in place and the bite is checked. Porcelain and gold are both options. Patients drive in from Allentown for that work.

An inlay or onlay is a single piece of porcelain or gold, made to fit one tooth exactly and bonded into it. An inlay replaces the biting surface inside the cusps; an onlay also covers a cusp, which is why onlays are sometimes called partial crowns. Both are made in a laboratory rather than shaped in your mouth.

An inlay or onlay is quoted as one fee covering the preparation, the laboratory work and the fitting, and you'll have that figure in writing first. It sits between a large filling and a crown in cost, and I'll price the alternatives beside it so you can compare them honestly. Financing is available.

Two visits, about two to three weeks apart. The first prepares the tooth and takes the impression, and you leave with a temporary you can eat with. The laboratory makes the porcelain to my design, and the second visit bonds it in and checks how it meets the tooth above.

The numbing is where the care goes. A super numbing gel is placed before the anesthetic, and I buffer the anesthetic chair-side, which adjusts its pH in about ten seconds, resulting in more profound and rapid onset of numbness. We agree on a stop signal before starting, and OraVerse can return the area to normal sensation afterward.

These are long-term restorations. Porcelain inlays and onlays, and gold or porcelain-fused-to-metal ones, carry a five-year warranty against fracture with normal use under our Peace of Mind Limited Dental Warranty, when you follow our recommendations for care, cleanings, and treatment. Accidents, sports, grinding and clenching are excluded from that.

Where the tooth allows it, I'd choose an onlay, because it keeps more of your own tooth. A crown encases the entire surface of the tooth, restoring its natural strength and shape, and that's the right answer when the tooth has broken down too far. An examination and a fiber optic look tell me which one your tooth is.