Grinding your teeth, more properly known as bruxism, isn't just something you do when you get angry. Many people grind their teeth while they sleep and don't even know it. Stress and anxiety during the daytime can also cause you to grind your teeth, as can certain medications you may take for other conditions.
With so many potential causes of teeth grinding, it's no wonder that many people have teeth that are badly damaged by the constant stress and pressure it creates. If you grind your teeth during the day or night, and your teeth have suffered as a consequence, dental onlays are one of the most effective ways to treat the damage and restore your teeth.
What Are Dental Onlays?
Your back teeth, the molars and pre-molars, are most vulnerable to damage caused by bruxism. As they grind together, the enamel on their biting surfaces is gradually weakened and worn away. After long periods of intense grinding, whole chunks of enamel may be chipped off, leaving the dentin and pulp beneath exposed to painful and potentially dangerous infections.
Dental onlays are designed to cover and protect teeth that have large areas of damage on their biting surfaces. Unlike dental fillings, which are injected into cavities in liquid form and harden over time, onlays are shaped pieces of solid material. Onlays also differ from fillings in that they can be used to replace damaged cusps, at the outer edges of the damaged biting surfaces.
They are crafted by dental technicians to exactly match the contours of the damaged biting surface and cemented into place by your dentist. Most modern dental onlays are made from either porcelain or composite resin. Porcelain onlays are more expensive, but also more durable, which can be very useful if you continue to suffer from bruxism problems after treatment.
Onlays Vs. Crowns
You may have noticed that dental onlays function similarly to dental crowns. However, onlays have a number of advantages over crowns.
Because crowns are large pieces of material designed to replace the entirety of a damaged tooth's enamel, any enamel remaining on your damaged tooth must be removed, so the crown can be fitted directly over the tooth's dentin. Onlays are much more conservative and do not require any healthy enamel to be removed.
Because of this, dental onlays are generally cheaper than dental crowns and can be applied more quickly to cover exposed dentin as quickly as possible. Replacing a damaged or lost onlay is also much cheaper than repairing or replacing a dental crown.
However, dental onlays can only cover a limited amount of damaged enamel and are less useful if tooth grinding has damaged the sides and bases of your teeth. In cases of severe damage, a crown may be the only practical way to save the tooth. Your dentist will give you expert advice on which tooth repair method is more suitable for your needs.
