“How do dental inlays differ from crowns?”
Is there a difference between dental inlays and crowns? Which do you think is better?
4 Answers
Dental inlay is more conservative restoration, usually made with Emax material, the same material that veneers are made of. Not many dentists do onlays (it'a an art to make them).
Inlays are smaller intra-dental restorations. They can replace several surfaces, you can retain most of the tooth structure and only replace the decayed, fractured or missing part of the enamel and dentine. A crown will cover and replace all or most of the enamel. Sometimes a crown is needed when teeth are weak or when patients have a very high decay index.
An inlay is a substitute procedure for a filling. A crown is needed when there is insufficient tooth structure to maintain a filling.
Dental inlays go inside the tooth, basically like a filling, but made in a lab or in a dental office that has that technology, and then it is bonded/cemented into the tooth. Crowns cover the entire surface of the tooth. It is not about one being better than the other, it is about what is most appropriate for the tooth.
