The Longevity of Porcelain Inlays

June 10, 2021

Has the visit to the dentist near you for routine exams brought information that you have a dental cavity that is too large for a filling and needs other therapeutic methods to protect it? The dentist you visited may recommend porcelain inlays in Encinitas as a suitable therapy to deal with the cavity in your tooth.

When recommending porcelain inlays, the dentist may provide information about the durability of this restoration, informing you will likely not need any more fillings in the tooth in the future. You may think the dentist provides an excellent solution to fill the cavity with fillers lasting for a lifetime. However, the longevity of porcelain inlays depends on many factors explained below in this blog.

Before we proceed any further, it would be appropriate to provide information about what a porcelain inlay is to ensure you understand what you’re getting into when you must have a dental restoration with inlays.

Why Do You Need a Dental Inlay?

That you need a dental inlay confirms you have dental decay in your tooth that’s too large for a traditional filling but insufficient for restoration by a dental crown. Dental inlays are restorations that are just right for your needs because the inlay fills the hollow space in your tooth in areas between the cusps. The inlay functions similarly as crowns without covering the entire surface of the tooth. Porcelain helps make dental inlays to protect your tooth affected by dental decay correctly.

What Precisely Is a Dental Inlay?

Inlays are restorations molded and fixed onto the chewing surfaces of your tooth affected by decay or injury. Dental inlays are customized using impressions of your teeth in a dental laboratory. Inlays fit perfectly in the hole of the tooth without affecting the cusps.

The dentist from Encinitas providing porcelain inlays matches the restoration to the color of your tooth as closely as possible. The dentist attempts to ensure the dental inlay remains unnoticeable in your mouth after placement. Porcelain is durable and can last for quite some time but is also expensive to cost around $ 900 per tooth. The prices of the porcelain inlay, along with the costs of the treatment, will likely cost you about $ 1200, making you wonder whether you are investing wisely in having them. However, if you try to understand the durability of porcelain, we are confident you will change your thinking and prefer having it to restore your tooth.

The Lifespan of Porcelain Inlays

The most significant benefit of porcelain inlays is their durability. After you have your tooth restored with a porcelain inlay, you can expect the restoration to remain in your mouth for nearly three decades. However, don’t expect the dentist to guarantee longevity because you must care for the repair if you wish to benefit from the investment you made in your tooth.

Porcelain inlays behave differently in everyone’s mouths, and some may experience faster wear and tear than others. An essential factor you must consider is your dental hygiene routine after the Encinitas dentist places the inlay on your tooth. Besides brushing two times a day, flossing at least once a day, and following the specific recommendations of the dentist are essential to keep porcelain inlays in excellent condition. You must also frequently visit the dentist to verify the inlays’ stability and health and ensure they are firmly in place.

Additional efforts are needed besides excellent dental hygiene to protect porcelain inlays. If you habitually clench and grind your teeth when sleeping, it helps to discuss the problem with the dentist. Teeth grinding can damage and crack the porcelain inlay. If you are affected by this problem, the dentist recommends night guards or alternative solutions to lessen grinding or protecting your teeth.

Lifestyle habits like having hard and chewy foods also affect the longevity of porcelain inlays. Hard food can crack the material, and tough foods sticking to the material and cause the restoration to loosen. Therefore you must change some lifestyle habits and incorporate them immediately after you have porcelain inlays on your tooth.

No dental professional guarantees the longevity of porcelain inlays or confirms how long they remain in your mouth. However, suppose you care for the porcelain inlays appropriately and keep your overall dental health in excellent condition. In that case, you can expect them to last for over two decades to protect your tooth.

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