Dental inlays - bad news or no?

[Butterfly29]

Mydentist told me I should consider replacing amalgam filling with s dental inlay. I have only heard bad things about dental inlays that they drill huge holes in your teeth the inlays fall out, or your tooth gets broken because the whole is too big leaving you with the only option to of a root canal.

My dentist is telling me that doing the inlay is better for the tooth because the feeling is big and old and if I don't do something it will eventually become problematic. He said it in the leg is better for the truth because it strengthens it as opposed to the amalgam filling.

 

[gentledental]

It depends on the size of the filling. If it is more than have a tooth filling then I would consider an onlay. I would prefer an onlay vs an inlay personally as it sits 'on' top of the tooth rather than 'in' the tooth so when you bite down it has more surface area to spread the load.

Google onlay or inlay if you want to know the difference.

 

[Butterfly29]

I am scared that drilling the filling pur that is in there now will cause me priblems, I have no issue with the tooth right now, and I don't want one, know what I mean. How is inlay better than the filling, I keep rwading about it and a few peopke are saying they needed root canals after getting inlay. I appreciate any and all feedback that is given, it helps to come to terms with making an educated decision. Thanks. I attached a photo of the tooth in question.

 

[Dr David Lee]

Thank you for posting a picture, as that helps alot.

You have an amalgam filling on that pre-molar that spans from one side of the tooth to the other. The weakest part of that tooth right now is the two cusps (pointy part). The reason is because the cusps are where you usually bite and because the filling goes from one side of the tooth to the other, a wedging effect can take place.

In this case, I would recommend to do an onlay if anything, to prevent the tooth/cusps from fracturing. You could also leave the tooth as it is, but know the risk of the tooth fracturing/breaking in the future.

Hope that helps!