Inlays and Onlays

You can think of a dental inlay or onlay as being midway between a filling and a crown. Inlays or onlays are used when not enough tooth structure remains to support a filling, but the tooth is not so severely damaged that it needs a crown.

An inlay is similar to a filling, but it lies within the cusps (bumps) on the chewing surface of your tooth. An onlay is more extensive than an inlay and covers one or more cusps.

Inlays or onlays can be made of gold, composite resin (plastic) or ceramics. They can last for decades. However, how long they last depends on the material used, the teeth involved, the forces of chewing and how well the patient maintains them with good oral hygiene and regular visits to a dentist.

Our office is unique and we are happy to provide our patients with single-visit inlays and onlays because of our amazing CEREC machine. Usually inlays and onlays require us taking a dental impression of your teeth and sending it to a lab to have your final restoration custom fabricated by highly skilled technicians. The CEREC machine allows the entire process to be done in-house and without us having to take a messy impression. Using CEREC, we will scan your mouth, design a restoration on a computer and finally have our in-house milling machine fabricate the restoration right in front of you.

If you would like to learn more about our same-day dentistry procedures, call us anytime at (812) 373-9912 or request an appointment to come in a experience the benefits of receiving a dental restoration in one day.