Inlays and Onlays

Our dentist in Beverly Hills may recommend inlays or onlays as a more conservative alternative to dental crowns when a tooth has suffered damage or decay. Also known as indirect fillings, inlays and onlays offer aesthetic and functional benefits. They are fabricated in a dental lab before being fitted and bonded by our dentist. They are often used when a dental filling is not enough to treat a compromised tooth.

Inlays Beverly Hills

Dental inlays are used to treat teeth that have decay or damage lying within the indented top surface. They can also be used to replace old fillings. Typically, our Beverly Hills inlays expert can place them within two appointments. Your first visit will involve taking an impression of your tooth and placing a temporary inlay over it. This impression will be sent to a lab so that a perfect inlay will be formed to match your tooth.

During the second appointment, our expert in inlays in Beverly Hills will actually place the inlay. Many patients prefer inlays over fillings because inlays are more durable, and they are made out of tooth-colored porcelain. This makes it so that they not only prevent the spread of bacteria, but they look completely natural.

Onlays Beverly Hills

The difference between inlays and onlays is that inlays are used to treat decay that is forming on the outside cusp of a single tooth while onlays are used to treat decay that has spread over multiple teeth. Onlays are placed the same way as inlays. Our Beverly Hills onlays expert will take an impression of the teeth during your first appointment, and after your onlay has been formed in the lab, it will be secured into place.

Onlays are made out of the same porcelain material as inlays, so it will blend in with the rest of your teeth. Our expert in onlays in Beverly Hills prefers using onlays when possible because they do not require any removal of the natural tooth structure. Dental crowns, bridges, and implants require a portion of the enamel to be removed in order to fit properly, so inlays and onlays can be used as a less invasive tooth restoration option.