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Inlay
In dentistry, an inlay is an indirect restoration (filling) consisting of a solid substance (as gold or porcelain) fitted to a cavity in a tooth and cemented into place.
Sometimes, a tooth treatment is planned to be restored with an intracoronal restoration, but the decay or fracture is so extensive that a direct restoration, such as composite, would compromise the structural integrity of the restored tooth by possibly undermining the remaining tooth structure or providing substandard opposition to occlusal (i.e. biting) forces.
While these restorations might be ten times the price of direct restorations, the superiority of gold as a restoration in terms of resistance to occlusal forces, protection against recurrent decay, precision of fabrication, marginal integrity, proper contouring for gingival (tissue) health, ease of cleansing and many other aspects of restorative quality offers an excellent alternative to the direct restoration.