What are inlays?
Both the inlay and the onlay (see below) are custom-made dental fillings. This type of defect treatment is also called an inlay filling. Unlike plastic filling materials such as amalgam, they are modeled to fit precisely based on a dental impression and inserted in one piece. In most cases they are made of ceramic or gold.
Inlay & onlay: the differences
When is an inlay made?
Tooth defects in the posterior region (not in the anterior region!) can be closed well with an inlay. Such defects are caused by wear (for example, night grinding), accidents or caries. The prerequisite for an inlay filling is that there is still enough of the damaged tooth left so that the filled tooth can withstand the chewing pressure.
How is an inlay made?
Now the dentist takes an impression of the tooth so that a model can be cast from plaster in the dental laboratory, on the basis of which the later inlay is made from wax. With its help, a mold is made into which the material for the final inlay is poured. The inlay is then finely ground and polished.
Between the two sessions, the cavity is protected with a temporary dental filling (such as glass ionomer cement).
Ceramic inlay in just one session
The latest techniques now make it possible to produce a ceramic inlay in just one session. A special computer (CEREC) scans the tooth using a 3D camera. The exact measurement data is forwarded to a milling machine, which mills an inlay from a ceramic block within a few minutes.
What are the advantages of an inlay?
Both the ceramic and gold inlay are very hygienic, withstand large chewing loads and have a much longer shelf life than other dental fillings: The average durability for models made of gold is ten to 15 years and for models made of ceramic eight to ten years. By comparison, an amalgam filling lasts on average seven to eight years and a composite filling four to six years.
What are the disadvantages of an inlay?
The production of an inlay filling is very time-consuming, and the materials used are expensive. The insertion also takes more time than with other dental fillings. For this reason, health insurance companies only cover the costs of an inlay on a pro-rata basis (only up to the amount of comparable amalgam fillings).
