What Are Dental Inlays & Onlays: Procedure & Benefits

If you have dental cavities or damaged teeth, the dentist may recommend a dental crown or a filling to cover the teeth. However, most people are unaware of other options like dental inlays and Onlays.

Teeth fillings repair minor cavities, while the crowns are designed to cover considerable fracture or damage. However, the crown is sometimes too much, and the filling is too small to repair the tooth. In that case, the dentist near you may recommend dental inlays and Onlays. They are the correct size but not as intrusive as the dental crowns.

What are Inlays and Onlays?

A tooth Inlay is used to cover an area in the tooth that is large for a filling. They are fixed between the cusps of the teeth and shaped to fit perfectly within the affected area. Onlays are partial crowns and are used to fill one or more cusps. They are primarily used to correct the larger surface area of the teeth.

How Are the Inlays and Onlays Fixed?

Inlays and Onlays are indirect dental restorations, and they are made at the lab and fixed on the teeth. Our dentist in 91710 will numb the gums, remove the decayed part and clean the teeth to remove debris. The dentist will use dental putty to mold the teeth to create the Inlay or Onlays. A temporary restoration covers the teeth until the next dental appointment. Our dentist removes the temporary Inlay and Onlays during your second appointment and checks the fit. She will then use a resin adhesive to fix the restorations and the teeth polished.

How Are Inlays and Onlays Different From Crowns?

Although the Onlays are partial crowns, they differ from the restorations. For instance, the Onlays do not require reshaping the enamel and therefore preserve your tooth structure. Dental crowns encase the entire tooth while the Onlays over the grooves and cusps of the teeth.

Does the Inlays & Onlays Procedure Hurt?

No, because the anesthesia is used to numb the gums. However, you may feel a pinch when the dentist is injecting the anesthesia. There may also be pressure when the dentist removes the decay, but not pain. Dental sedation can, at times, be used if you suffer from dental phobia or anxiety.

What are the Benefits of Dental Inlays and Onlays?

Dental Inlays and Onlays are two dental treatments that can help restore the function of the teeth. They come with benefits like:

  • They are a conservative treatment. These restorations are conservative and help preserve your teeth’ integrity compared to the dental crowns.
  • The Inlays and Onlays offer added strength and durability. The dental fillings are often made from composite material, which is not as strong. The inlays and Onlays are primarily made of porcelain (although it comes in different materials), durable and strong. Additionally, they are stain-resistant and do not discolor as quickly as the composite fillings.
  • They offer a natural appearance. Because the Inlays and Onlays are made of porcelain, the teeth have a seamless look.
  • Improve oral hygiene: Dental Inlays and Onlays will also help improve your oral hygiene by preventing plaque buildup.
  • The Inlays and Onlays are cost-effective and are covered by most insurance plans.
  • Less expansion. The amalgam fillings tend to expand and contract with temperature variations. Porcelain Inlays and Onlays are stable and do not change shape.

What are the Post-Procedure Care after Inlays and Onlays?

The 48 hours following the inlay and Onlays procedure are critical. It is advisable to avoid hard, sticky, and extreme temperatures. Eat soft and less chewy foods for the first couple of days after the restorations are fixed.

How Long Do the Dental Inlay and Onlays Last?

Dental inlays and Onlays can last between 10 and 30 years, depending on the material and how well you care for the restorations. Visit a dentist near you to examine the quality of the inlays and Onlays.

Schedule an Appointment

Visit or schedule a consultation with Ramona Dentistry of Chino for more information about dental Inlays & Onlays in Chino, CA, and what you can expect during the procedure.

Oral Health Benefits of Root Canal Treatment

Do you think dentists recommend root canal treatments without reason? Root canal therapy is recommended by dentists only when you have dental pulp infections inside your tooth and complain about excruciating pain with lingering sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures in the affected tooth. Recommendations for the treatment are provided to eradicate the infection from your mouth, preserve your oral health, and not merely generate revenue.

Are you aware of the oral health benefits of this treatment? If not, we suggest you continue reading this article to understand how your oral and overall health improves by having this therapy.

How Did You Develop Dental Pulp Infections?

Your teeth have a solid outer layer called enamel and a second layer beneath dentin. Beneath the dentin lies the soft center of your tooth, housing the dental pulp. The dental pulp, in turn, is home to blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerves that nourish your tooth during its developmental stages. You develop dental pulp infections when you have an untreated cavity in your mouth, repeated dental procedures on the same tooth, or a chipped or cracked tooth.

When you leave your dental condition untreated for long, the bacteria in your mouth eventually infect the dental pulp. Root canal therapy provided by the dentist in Chino, CA, is the only treatment available to eliminate dental pulp infections. However, if you overlook the recommendation or ignore the need for this treatment, you have an alternative to get your tooth extracted by the dentist and seek replacements at costly prices.

How Does the Oral Health Benefit from Root Canals?

Dental pulp infections tend to expand quickly to infect your jawbone and remaining teeth. If you allow the infection to stay in your tooth, you become susceptible to overall health issues because the bacteria in your tooth enter your bloodstream to cause health complications like cardiovascular issues, respiratory disease, osteoporosis, and cancer.

Getting root canal treatment in Chino, CA, helps prevent all health conditions that need treatments from different medical professionals instead of dentists. Most importantly, it helps preserve your natural tooth that would otherwise require extraction because your tooth can’t heal by itself, and the infection continues expanding.

Root Canal Treatments Are Painful and Expensive, Aren’t They?

When you accept the proposal of the dentist near you to have root canals, you think of the pain you will experience after or during the treatment without considering the pain you currently experience. However, root canal treatments are not as painful as imagined or described. Instead, they are a mechanism to eliminate the pain you experience and let you keep your natural tooth.

Earlier, when dentistry techniques and anesthesia weren’t modernized, root canal treatments were undoubtedly painful. Currently, dentists have access to specialized instruments and modern anesthesia that make you feel you had a dental filling instead of root canals. The procedure is completed in approximately 90 minutes to three hours, depending on which tooth needs the treatment. In some cases, you may even need to revisit the dentist for a second appointment to complete the therapy if you need the treatment to eliminate infections from your molars.

You would experience some discomfort from the therapy after it is completed by the dentist, especially if you underwent the treatment with pain in the tooth. However, dentists provide over-the-counter or a prescription for painkillers to help you overcome the discomfort during your recovery.

The cost of root canal treatments is meager than the cost of replacing your affected tooth with dental implants or bridges. However, the cost of tooth replacement solutions and maintaining the replacements is much higher than undergoing root canals to eradicate an infection from your tooth. Therefore if you are recommended, root canals put your fears behind you and accept the proposal to better your oral and overall well-being from a treatment that also helps preserve your natural tooth.

What Happens When Undergoing Root Canals?

The procedure is straightforward and merely requires the removal of the infected or inflamed dental pulp from inside your tooth. You receive anesthesia to eliminate pain during the treatment as the dentist drills your tooth to access the dental pulp. They remove the pulp and clean and seal the canals with a temporary filling. Dentists recommend that you have the tooth restored soon after recovery from your regular dentist with a dental crown for strength and functionality.

Root canal-treated teeth last for a lifetime with proper dental hygiene. So long as you care for your teeth appropriately and visit your dentist for regular checkups, you can enjoy better oral and overall health.

Now that you know how root canals benefit your oral health, would you still hesitate to accept your dentist’s proposal to undergo this treatment? We are confident you will schedule an appointment with Ramona Dentistry of Chino to have this treatment and benefit from it.

What is Sleep Apnea: Symptoms, Risks & Treatment

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a severe sleep disorder that causes your breathing to repeatedly start and stop when you sleep. For example, if you snore loudly or feel tired and exhausted after getting a whole night’s rest, you might likely have sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea can affect you in three variations. They are obstructive sleep apnea, the most common and occurs when your throat muscles relax. Central sleep apnea occurs when your brain doesn’t send signals to the muscles controlling your breathing. The third variety, complex sleep apnea, occurs when you have both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

If you think you or a family member has sleep apnea, you must schedule an appointment with your doctor or the dentist in 91710. Early treatment can ease the symptoms and help prevent complications like heart problems.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Obstructive and central sleep apnea have overlapping symptoms making it challenging to determine which variety affects you. The familiar signs of obstructive and central sleep apnea include loud snoring, episodes causing you to stop bleeding during sleep and reported by a bed partner, gasping for air when sleeping, waking up with a dry mouth, challenges staying asleep, morning headaches, daytime sleepiness, challenges paying attention, and irritability.

Loud snoring is not something you should take lightly because it is a severe problem. However, not everyone who has sleep apnea snores. Therefore you must discuss your symptoms with the dentist and inquire about any sleep-related issues that leave you tired, sleepy, and irritable.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your throat muscles relax to narrow your airway when breathing. Central sleep apnea is a condition where you make no effort to breathe for short periods. Both varieties cause you to wake five or 30 times every hour throughout the night.

Risks of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea affects anyone, including children. However, certain factors can increase your chances of developing this sleep-related disorder.

Obstructive sleep apnea is common among people with excess weight, thicker neck circumference, narrowed airway, gender, age, family history, alcohol use, nasal congestion, smoking, and medical solutions. Men are more prone to have obstructive sleep apnea than women. However, women can also develop this condition if they are overweight and are past menopause.

In central sleep apnea, the risks include age, gender, heart disorders, drug use, and strokes. Men are affected by central sleep apnea more than women.

Diagnosing Sleep Apnea

If you visit the dentist in Chino, CA, reporting your symptoms, the dentist will likely evaluate your symptoms and sleep history. You might require help from her bed partner or a family member to discuss your symptoms with your dentist.

You will likely receive a referral to a sleep disorder Center where a sleep medicine specialist helps you determine whether you need further evaluation. Sleep apnea evaluations often involve overnight monitoring at a sleep center to evaluate your breathing and body functions when sleeping. For example, the polysomnography test, considered the gold standard for assessing sleep apnea, requires hooking you up to equipment monitoring your heart, lungs, and oxygen levels when sleeping.

If you are affected by sleep apnea, the sleep medicine specialist refers you back to your dentist or doctor for further treatment.

Treatment for Sleep Apnea

If you are affected by a mild case of sleep apnea, you might find relief for making lifestyle changes like losing weight or quitting smoking. However, if your situation is complex, sleep apnea treatment in Chino, CA, might recommend oral appliances designed by dentists to help keep your throat open when sleeping. The gold standard for treating sleep apnea is the CPAP device which many people don’t tolerate. However, there is no reason for you to express disappointment because the oral appliance created by dentists is easier to use, keeps your lower jaw in a forward position, and is practical to relieve snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

Your dentist can provide different devices as a remedy for your condition. However, you might need to try other devices before finding one suitable for you. After you get the right fit, you must follow up with your dentist immediately for at least a year and after regularly to ensure the device fits well and to reassess your signs and symptoms of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea when left untreated, can expose you to life-threatening health complications that require different medical professionals. Therefore if you think you are affected by sleep apnea, please do not hesitate to visit Ramona Dentistry of Chino requesting treatment for the problem from the experienced professionals at the facility.

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