Dentist question: Can large composite fillings be replaced with gold inlays?

[tcG]

I just got a few, relatively large composite fillings on the chewing surface of a few molars.

I know these have a finite lifespan and will need to be replaced. My question is whether, when the time comes, it is possible to replace a composite filling with an gold inlay. I'm thinking "no" since the way that a tooth is prepared for a composite filling means that really only another composite filling could be used to replace the old one - something about how a relatively large portion of the top (where the pits and fissures are) is drilled and replaced with composite.

This is a somewhat specialized question so I'm thinking that only a dentist/dental student will be able to answer this question. Would also be interested to know if anybody has had it done...

 

[jaedaliu]

I'm not a dentist, but I don't see why not.

Just make sure you save the gold filling if it ever falls out.

 

[tcG]

^ But of course...

I've been doing some reading and apparently there are two ways to do composite fillings on molars - one fills just the cavity, leaving the pits and fissures on the chewing surface and the rest of the tooth unfilled, the other drills away the pits and fissures and replaces them with composite filling.

The second way seems needlessly aggressive to me, and it's this that makes me think it would be difficult to replace the composite with a gold/porcelain inlay, since all the composite, which now covers almost the entire tooth, would have to be drilled away before cementing the gold/porcelain.