A dental Inlay or Onlay is a solid, single piece of porcelain which is fabricated outside the mouth (using impressions and measurements) and then bonded ‘into or onto’ the tooth.
This way of restoring a tooth is different to composite resin. Inlays and Onlays are used when a harder and more durable restoration is needed for one or more reasons such as:
- The tooth has minimal tooth structure remaining;
- The tooth has fractures;
- The tooth is used heavily for chewing.
Inlays and Onlays are strong, custom made, tooth-coloured restorations and research has shown that they will restore your tooth almost to its original strength whilst being virtually invisible.