Inlays

Inlays are usually needed when the cavity inside the tooth is too large and too deep. Unlike a filling that uses a composite material to fill the space and only takes one visit, with an inlay, a solid piece of material (e.g. porcelain, ceramic, or gold) is made in a laboratory to precisely fit inside the empty space. Unlike fillings, inlays hold for a significantly longer time without shrinkage or staining, and they are also more aesthetically appealing.

Onlays

Unlike fillings and inlays, onlays are used to restore a larger part of the tooth. The area an onlay covers involves one or more of the cusps of your tooth, whereas, inlays and fillings cover the area inside of your tooth between the cusps. Like inlays, onlays are fabricated in the dental laboratory and, therefore, more than one patient visit is required to complete the restoration. As with inlays, onlays are more durable and match your teeth better than composite fillings. Onlays also don’t require removal of significant tooth structure like crowns do.

Overlays

Overlays cover a much larger portion of the occlusal or biting surface. Though, they are often compared to partial crowns, overlays are very different from crowns. The main difference lies in the preparation of the tooth. Where inlays, onlays, overlays and pinlays are concerned, they fit in the remaining a part of the tooth like a piece of jigsaw puzzle. Unlike crowns, they require less preparation of the tooth and therefore keep more of the natural tooth structure intact

Prosthodontics