Porcelain Inlay / Onlay

An inlay or onlay is a custom-made ceramic restoration that repairs a tooth with damage too extensive for a simple filling but not requiring a full crown. Made in a laboratory to fit precisely, it is bonded into the prepared tooth to restore strength and shape while preserving more natural structure than a crown. ASP Stomatologia offers porcelain inlays and onlays as a durable, tooth-coloured way to rebuild larger cavities, especially on back teeth.

Inlays and onlays sit between a filling and a crown in terms of how much of a tooth they restore. When a cavity or fracture is too large to be reliably rebuilt with a direct filling, but the tooth still has enough sound structure that a full crown would be unnecessarily destructive, a laboratory-made inlay or onlay is often the ideal solution. An inlay fits within the contours of the tooth, filling the area between the cusps, while an onlay also covers one or more of the cusps themselves. At ASP Stomatologia the tooth is prepared by removing decay and old filling material and shaping a clean cavity, an impression is taken, and the porcelain restoration is fabricated to match precisely before being bonded firmly into place at a later visit. Because they are made from porcelain, inlays and onlays are tooth-coloured and blend with the surrounding enamel, and the material is hard-wearing and resistant to staining. Compared with a large direct filling, a well-fitted ceramic inlay or onlay restores the tooth's original shape and biting surface accurately and is associated with good durability under chewing forces, while conserving more healthy tooth than a crown would require. They are most often used on premolars and molars that take heavy load. The dentist will assess whether an inlay or onlay is the most appropriate option for a given tooth based on the size and position of the damage, and explain how it compares with a filling or a crown so you can choose with a clear understanding of the trade-offs.