{"id":981,"date":"2026-06-29T21:48:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T19:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/conseils\/how-do-you-repair-a-tooth-ceramic-inlay-amalgam-or-composite\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T15:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T13:01:38","slug":"repair-tooth-ceramic-inlay-amalgam-composite","status":"publish","type":"conseil","link":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/advice\/repair-tooth-ceramic-inlay-amalgam-composite\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you repair a tooth? Ceramic inlay, amalgam or composite"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When decay or an old restoration has to be replaced, there are three main families of material for repairing the tooth. They are not equal in terms of longevity, sealing and biocompatibility.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The ceramic inlay \/ onlay<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An inlay (or onlay) is a piece of <strong>custom-made ceramic<\/strong> bonded into the tooth. It replaces old amalgam fillings and leaky resins with a material whose properties are very close to those of enamel.<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Reliable, strong and long-lasting: ceramic is today&#8217;s gold standard.<\/p><\/blockquote><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Amalgam (silver filling)<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amalgam contains <strong>mercury (50%)<\/strong>, silver, zinc and tin. Corrosion and oxidation are inevitable: the filling then has to be made larger, or the tooth root-treated and crowned. It is no longer used in some countries because of the mercury. <strong>Not advised<\/strong> in cases of kidney disease or pregnancy.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Composite resin<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Composite is <strong>far less hard-wearing than enamel<\/strong>. As it sets on the day it is placed it shrinks, which makes the seal around the edges unreliable.<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Short lifespan<\/strong>: 3 to 5 years.<\/li><li>After that, a larger composite is needed, or root treatment and a crown.<\/li><li>Its <strong>toxicity is poorly understood<\/strong> and its biocompatibility incomplete.<\/li><\/ul>\n<div style=\"padding-top:30px\">\n<h3>Further reading<\/h3>\n<ul>\n  <li><a href=\"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/restauration-dents\/inlays-onlays-and-overlays\/\">our inlays, onlays and overlays<\/a><\/li>\n  <li><a href=\"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/advice\/the-different-types-of-restoration\/\">the different types of restoration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three ways to repair a damaged tooth: the ceramic inlay\/onlay (the gold standard), amalgam or composite. A clear comparison of the pros and cons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":976,"template":"","conseil_cat":[25],"class_list":["post-981","conseil","type-conseil","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","conseil_cat-general-dentistry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conseil\/981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conseil"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/conseil"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"conseil_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oracleblog.mediweb.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conseil_cat?post=981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}