You can think of a dental inlay or onlay as being midway between a filling and a crown. Inlays or onlays are used when not enough tooth structure remains to support a filling, but the tooth is not so severely damaged that it needs a crown.

An inlay is similar to a filling, but it lies within the cusps (bumps) on the chewing surface of your tooth. An onlay is more extensive than an inlay and covers one or more cusps.

Inlays or onlays can be made of gold, composite resin (plastic) or ceramics. They can last for decades. However, how long they last depends on the material used, the teeth involved, the forces of chewing and how well the patient maintains them with good oral hygiene and regular visits to a dentist.

Our office is unique and we are happy to provide our patients with single-visit inlays and onlays because of our amazing CEREC machine. Usually inlays and onlays require us taking a dental impression of your teeth and sending it to a lab to have your final restoration custom fabricated by highly skilled technicians. The CEREC machine allows the entire process to be done in-house and without us having to take a messy impression. Using CEREC, we will scan your mouth, design a restoration on a computer and finally have our in-house milling machine fabricate the restoration right in front of you.

If you would like to learn more about our same-day dentistry procedures, call us anytime at (La Jolla) 858-455-7777, or (Chula Vista) 619-482-5555 or request an appointment to come in a experience the benefits of receiving a dental restoration in one day.

The final cost of a dental inlay or onlay can depend on many factors. Generally, the larger the restoration, the more costly things can get but inlays and onlays are an affordable restoration that will last a very long time. In situations where a less expensive restoration is used where an inlay or onlay was preferred, the non-preferred restoration will usually fail and either have to be re-done and can even cause more damage than it originally created leading to an even more expensive future restoration. It is very important to not let the costs of any dental restoration get in the way of the total benefits they can offer.

Because everyone's condition is unique, we prefer you to request an appointment with our office and come in so we can check things out.

Every dental insurance provider treats inlays or onlays differently but generally your dental insurance may cover a portion of an inlay or onlay restoration. Call us at (La Jolla) 858-455-7777, or (Chula Vista) 619-482-5555 and let us know who your dental insurance provider is and we will happily find out just how much they will cover if you need a dental inlay or onlay. We can even submit a pre-treatment estimate for you so make sure you request an appointment and come in to see us.