An alternative to getting crowns or fillings for your decayed or broken teeth is porcelain inlays. The inlays are implanted into your teeth and help to protect the tooth from further structural damage. The process for getting porcelain inlays will require at least two office visits to your dentist. Here is how your dentist will go about placing porcelain inlays into your teeth.

First Office Visit

The first thing the dentist does is numb your mouth with a substance like lidocaine. Lidocaine is used to numb the tissue around the tooth and will deaden the nerve in the tooth during the procedure.

A rubber dam might be placed in your mouth. The rubber dam is made to fit around your teeth and covers the back of your throat. The dam prevents the debris generated from drilling out your tooth from falling into your throat and causing you to choke or cough.

Your dentist will then clean out the decayed area in the tooth just like they would if they were going to putting in a regular filing. The clean out is typically done by using a small drill the dentist can hold with their fingertips. On the tip of a drill is a bur made out of a material like diamond, tungsten carbide, ceramics, or polymers so the bur is strong enough to easily break down the hard bone around the cavity.

An impression will be made of your teeth after the cavity has been cleaned out. The impression is usually done using an "impression tray." The impression tray is shaped to match the contour of the teeth in your mouth. Your teeth will sink into the material in the tray and leave a clear impression of the tooth that a dental lab can use to create your porcelain inlay.

The dentist will then put in a temporary inlay for your comfort while you wait for the permanent inlay to be made.

Second Office Visit

You will come in for your second visit once the dentist has received your permanent inlay back from the dental lab. Your dentist will remove the temporary inlay and place the new one in position to see how it fits. Your dentist will also have you bite down on a bite impression tray made out of wax to make sure you can still do a normal bite. An abnormal bite can lead to other dental issues like grinding teeth and jaw problems.

The dentist will use dental cement to affix the porcelain inlay to your tooth once they are satisfied that the inlay fits properly into your tooth and mouth.

Contact dentists like Dr. David K. Skeels to make an appointment to discuss your options.