About Crowns, Bridges, Inlays and Onlays
Extensive damage to a tooth may require replacing the missing tooth structure with a porcelain restoration. These natural-looking, tooth-colored restorations are indicated for teeth that cannot support a dental filling due to the size of the repair. Our dentists practice metal-free dentistry for all of our cosmetic dental procedures, including crowns, bridges, inlays, and onlays.
Your Zen Dental dentist will choose which porcelain restoration is best for you. Several factors determine whether to restore an existing tooth, including the size and the location in the mouth. The following porcelain restorations may be used to repair your tooth if we determine a dental filling is not an option.
Bridges
A bridge is commonly used to cover a space or gap if you miss one or more teeth. A bridge is cemented onto natural teeth or implants surrounding the space. A disadvantage of a bridge is that adjacent teeth must be used. For this reason, implants are the treatment of first choice for replacing missing teeth.
Inlays
Dental inlays are porcelain restorations that fill the space between the cusps of the teeth. These restorations are indicated when additional support is needed that a dental filling cannot provide. Compared to a crown, less tooth structure is removed, making dental inlays a more conservative restoration option.
Onlays
Like dental inlays, dental onlays cover one or more cusps of the entire biting surface of the tooth. Dental onlays are also referred to as partial crowns because they cover less than the tooth’s total surface. They’re the final option before a crown. Like crowns and bridges, both inlays and onlays are permanently cemented inside the tooth.
