Preventing dental diseases typically means effectively preventing oral bacteria from harming your teeth and periodontal tissues. However, even clean and healthy teeth are not indestructible, and when your tooth cracks or breaks, then preventing further damage requires restoring the tooth as soon as possible. It also requires preserving and protecting the healthy tooth structure that remains, and for many patients in Syosset, NY, that means minimizing the size of the restoration placed. For example, instead of completely capping a tooth that only has a mild or moderate blemish, we can often recommend inlays or onlays, which are partial crowns that fully restore teeth without having to cover them completely.
Addressing Your Tooth’s Specific Damage
Tooth fractures and breaks can occur on virtually any visible surface of your tooth (the top section, known as the crown). When they do occur, the repeated pressures of biting and chewing can make the damage worse unless the tooth is restored. Traditionally, that often meant designing and placing a custom dental crown that closely mimics the tooth’s size, shape, and appearance. The crown is secured over the tooth to protect it and restore its structural integrity, as well as improve its overall appearance. However, preparing your tooth for a crown means sculpting its structure to accommodate the restoration, whereas a partial crown can offer comparable results with significantly fewer changes to your tooth structure.
Benefiting from Inlays and Onlays
Partial crowns (also known as inlays and onlays) are restorations that are designed to restore only the damaged part of your tooth instead of its entire crown. For example, a tooth-colored inlay can be placed within the crevices on the chewing surface of a tooth when the damage is at its center. For more comprehensive restoration, an onlay can be designed to cover the chewing surface and on or more sides of the tooth. Because they don’t cover your entire tooth, partial crowns don’t require your dentist to sculpt and alter your tooth’s entire crown, which means you can preserve a maximum amount of your healthy tooth structure while restoring the damaged part.
Find Out if Your Tooth Can Use a Partial Crown
When your tooth is damaged or otherwise compromised but still retains most of its healthy, natural crown structure, a partial crown (inlay or onlay) may be the best way to fully restore it. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Syosset Dental in Syosset, NY today at 516-433-2211 or 516-921-1678.
