At İnci Diş, our core philosophy is centered on preserving the long-term health and integrity of your natural teeth. While dental crowns are an excellent solution for severely damaged teeth, not every situation requires such extensive coverage. This is where dental inlays and onlays provide a sophisticated, conservative, and highly effective alternative. Often referred to as "partial crowns" or "indirect fillings," these restorations are custom-fabricated in our advanced dental laboratory to fit perfectly into a prepared tooth, restoring its shape and function while conserving the maximum amount of healthy tooth structure. They represent a significant advancement over traditional large fillings, offering superior strength, longevity, and aesthetics for teeth with moderate decay or damage.
What is the Difference: Inlay vs. Onlay vs. Filling?
Understanding the distinction between these restorations is key to appreciating their role in modern conservative dentistry. Imagine a spectrum of restoration based on the extent of the damage:
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Dental Filling: Used for small to moderate cavities. The composite material is placed directly into the prepared tooth and cured in a single visit.
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Dental Inlay: This is the next step up. When a cavity is too large for a simple filling but doesn't affect the tooth's cusps (the pointed tips on the chewing surface), an inlay is ideal. It is a single, solid piece made in our lab that fits precisely within the cusps.
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Dental Onlay: When the damage is more extensive and involves covering one or more of the cusps, an onlay is used. It not only fills the cavity but also overlays the chewing surface to protect the weakened cusps from fracturing. It is the perfect intermediate step before a full dental crown is needed.
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Dental Crown: This is the final step, used when the tooth has extensive damage, has had a root canal, or is severely weakened. A crown covers the entire visible portion of the tooth down to the gum line.
By offering inlays and onlays, our dentists can choose the most conservative option that effectively solves the problem without removing unnecessary tooth tissue.
Advantages of Choosing a Ceramic Inlay or Onlay
When crafted from high-quality dental ceramic like E-max, inlays and onlays offer a multitude of benefits over traditional metal or large composite fillings.
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Superior Durability and Longevity: Because they are milled from a solid block of high-strength ceramic in our laboratory, inlays and onlays are significantly stronger and more durable than direct fillings. They do not shrink or change shape over time, ensuring a long-lasting, stable restoration.
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Exceptional Aesthetics: We use tooth-colored ceramic that is custom-shaded to blend invisibly with your natural tooth. It mimics the translucency and luster of enamel, creating a result that is virtually undetectable.
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Preservation of Healthy Tooth Structure: This is their most significant advantage. By only targeting the damaged portion of the tooth, we can preserve a large amount of your healthy enamel and dentin, which is always our primary goal.
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Perfect Fit and Seal: The precision of our digital CAD/CAM manufacturing process ensures an incredibly accurate fit. This tight seal prevents bacteria from leaking in around the restoration, protecting the tooth from future decay.
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Stain Resistance: Unlike composite fillings, which can discolor over time, high-quality ceramic is resistant to staining from coffee, tea, and other foods, keeping your smile bright.
The İnci Diş Process: Precision-Crafted Restorations
Our commitment to excellence is evident in our meticulous, technology-driven process for creating your custom inlays and onlays. We harness the power of digital dentistry to deliver flawless results.
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Advanced Digital Scanning: We bypass the need for uncomfortable, goopy impression materials. Our state-of-the-art intraoral scanners capture a highly detailed 3D image of your tooth and bite in just minutes. This process is fast, comfortable, and provides our lab with a perfect digital blueprint.
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Expert CAD/CAM Design and Milling: The digital scan is loaded into our CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software, where our skilled dental technicians design your inlay or onlay with microscopic precision. They ensure the restoration will fit perfectly and restore a natural, functional bite. The final design is then sent to our in-house CAM milling unit, which carves the restoration from a single block of premium, biocompatible ceramic.
Your Inlay & Onlay Procedure at Our Istanbul Clinic
The process is straightforward and typically completed over two comfortable appointments:
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First Appointment: Preparation and Scanning. Your dentist will begin by ensuring you are completely comfortable, applying a local anesthetic. The decayed or damaged portion of the tooth is carefully removed, and the area is cleaned and shaped. We then take the quick and easy digital scan. Finally, a temporary restoration is placed to protect the tooth while your custom inlay or onlay is being fabricated in our lab.
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Second Appointment: Final Bonding. During this visit, the temporary restoration is removed, and the tooth is cleaned. Your dentist will carefully place your final, custom-milled inlay or onlay to check the fit and color. Once it is confirmed to be perfect, it is permanently bonded to the tooth using a high-strength dental adhesive. The restoration is then polished to a smooth, natural finish, leaving you with a tooth that is strong, healthy, and beautiful.