What You Need To Know About A Dental Inlay

Are you a good candidate for a dental inlay?

Often times when teeth are unhealthy or weak, a piece of tooth will come off.

Sometimes you’ll notice straight away, other times it might be days. Many people notice because they can feel the sharp parts of tooth left over.

What is a dental inlay?

When a piece of tooth is missing, if it is small, replacing that part of the tooth is a dental inlay. This is similar to an onlay or crown.

The dentist will take another substance and structure it to replace and cover the missing area of tooth.

What do you need to know about dental inlays?

A major issue patients need to understand about dental inlays is they are not a remedy for unhealthy or weak teeth. Covering up the remaining tooth does not take away from the risk there may be other problems with the tooth, or all of the teeth.

Issues might include a lack of calcium, dietary problems, lack of cleaning, etc. If the problem comes from within the tooth an inlay may not be the answer- until other problems are remedied.

Assessment

During an assessment Dr. Stone will check the teeth in question to see if there are any other problems that need to be addressed before an inlay, crown or onlay can be performed. He will test the strength of the tooth and look for immediate problems that should be fixed.

Immediate problems could include exposure of nerves or even the root of the tooth. These exposures can be amazingly painful so they need to be fixed. Ideally the tooth will be able to be saved, but in some cases it will not.

When a tooth cannot be saved, other options can be discussed to have the affected tooth or teeth removed and other methods used to fill the gap.

Due to the nature of the problem behind needing a dental inlay patients should be aware of these problems being discovered and getting them treated. We will make sure you are aware of any developments from the assessment.

Replacement Solution

There are a few options when it comes to choosing the solution we will use to perform the inlay. In the past dental inlays have been performed with gold or porcelain.

We can guide you through choosing the best substance for your inlay by discussing the pros and cons of each. If you have any questions about the substance we will be using, please be sure to ask- this is a permanent solution.

Procedure

Once Dr. Stone has approved you as an inlay candidate you can schedule your procedure. Based on how many teeth will be treated, the procedure will last accordingly. The cost of the procedure will be affected by how many teeth need to be fixed, as well. We should be able to provide a quote prior to performing the inlay.

At the end of the procedure, you will receive feedback about future procedures, how to care of your treated teeth in the coming days, and any other steps you’ll need to follow.
As we always want to accommodate you, you are able to call the office at any time to get questions answered. We are here to help.

Get Your Consultation

We would love to have you visit the office to have a consultation, and more importantly, ask all of the questions you have about any dental procedure you are considering. Give us a call today and we can set up your consultation, we will do our best to answer any questions you have over the phone, and work around your schedule availability.

– John C. Stone, DDS, Cosmetic Dentist, Ft. Lauderdale