What Are Dental Inlays?

Inlays can be divided into single-sided inlays, double-sided inlays, and multi-sided inlays according to the different inlays covered by the teeth. Depending on the material used to make the inlay, it can be divided into alloy inlays, resins, and porcelain inlays.

Liu Yuhua

(Chief physician)

Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University Stomatological Hospital

An inlay is a restoration that is embedded inside the tooth to restore the shape and function of a tooth defect.

Chinese name

Inlay

Foreign name

inlay

Indication

Restore the shape and function of dental defects

Affiliated Department

Department of Prosthodontics

Inlay classification

Inlays can be divided into single-sided inlays, double-sided inlays, and polyhedral inlays according to the different dental surfaces covered by inlays. Depending on the material used to make the inlay, it can be divided into alloy inlays, resins, and porcelain inlays.

1. Inlays made of gold alloy have good ductility and mechanical properties, and are ideal traditional restoration materials for dental inlays after they are made.

2. The composition and polymerization method of the composite resin of the resin inlay is more excellent than that of the conventional filling resin. The material has less wear on the teeth and is easy to repair.

3. Porcelain inlays include porcelain inlays made directly on the refractory materials; there are ceramic inlays ground by CAD / CAM; They have excellent aesthetic properties. ^[1]

Incontinence

Because inlays are restorations that can only repair the tooth at the defect site and cannot protect the rest of the teeth, inlays can only be applied when the tooth is defective, but a large amount of healthy tooth tissue remains . In other words, the crown used as an inlay must have a sufficient height and the thickness of the remaining tooth wall to enable it to obtain retention and resistance. ^[2]

Inlay indication

In general, dental defects that can be repaired by filling methods are indications for inlays. Specifically, the inlay is suitable for patients with dental defects but healthy dental pulp, high requirements for the performance of repair materials and repair effects, and unwillingness to receive filling treatment or repeated failure of filling treatment. ^[3]

Inlay fillers and inlays

Then the reason why the inlay type can be filled with the filling body is to select the inlay type: the difference between the two is that the filling body is held by the concave depression; the inlay is held by the cement and friction. The filling body is directly filled in the mouth; the inlay is made on a model outside the mouth with different materials. The face shape of the filling body is formed by trimming in the mouth. The face shape of the inlay is finely carved on the model. Any shape of the occlusal surface can be made and coordinated with the occlusal. The abutment and axial surfaces of the filling body are not easy to restore the shape protrusion, cannot be highly polished, and easily adhere to plaque. The inlay can restore the correct adjacent contact relationship and axial convexity, can be highly polished, is not easy to adhere to plaque, and is easy to clean. Compared with silver-mercury fillings, alloy inlays are much better in strength and durability, and gold alloys can maintain accurate morphology and complete edges for a long time. Compared with resin and glass ion fillers, porcelain and resin inlays have much better appearance and performance. However, when the cavity is small, repairing with inlays may remove some dental tissue due to the retention requirements of the dental preparation. The inlay is the prosthesis with the longest outline and can only be applied under conditions of low dental caries and good oral hygiene. When the crown is low, the caries rate is high, the defect is large, the contour line is long, and the tooth is weak, it is not suitable for inlays. Compared with crown restorations, inlays have poor retention and are not suitable for inlays when the occlusal force is heavy, the wear is heavy, or bruxism. ^[4-5]

Inlay expert opinion

The choice of inlays should be based on the clinical situation and therefore the advice of the physician should be followed.