Fillings with plastic materials are fashioned directly in the mouth. There is also the option of creating a filling outside the mouth and then fixating it in the cavity. These inlay fillings (inlays) can consist of gold alloys, ceramics or plastics. A further subdivision can be carried out according to the venue of production. An inlay can be produced either indirectly (in the dental lab) or directly at the practice.

If the inlay is manufactured in the lab, precision forming of the cavity will first take place in the practice. The dental technician uses this form to prepare a working model, whereby he casts and sockets a dental crown consisting of ultra-hard plaster to produce a saw-cut model. The relevant tooth can be removed from the model as an individual stump.

For gold inlays the wax model is enclosed with an embedding compound (similar to plaster, but fire-resistant) and transformed into precious metal through a casting process. The resulting cast object is separated from the sprue cone and channel, removed and cemented into the cavity after successful fitting.

Ceramic inlays can be directly layered and fired in a fire-proof model stump of the duplicated tooth consisting of a ceramic powder pulp. After the firing process, the fire-proof mass of the stump is removed and the inlay is prepared in a control stump in the model of the entire jaw. A further option to produce ceramic inlays is similar to the production of gold inlays in a casting process. Molten ceramic material is then used instead of molten metal.

A third option is the scanning and milling process. An optical impression is created and digitalised with the help of a scanner. The required ceramic inlay is then constructed on-screen. After completion of this preparation process, a computer-controlled production unit (CAD/CAM) then bevels the inlay (as well as onlays, crowns and bridges) within a few minutes. The inlay is then fitted. Once the inlay has been inserted it is finely bevelled and polished.