dental care

Cracked Tooth Symptoms, Treatments, and Recovery | Endodoncia Tracy

Cracked Tooth Symptoms, Treatments, and Recovery: 
We Dentists believe “ No one can take our smiles away if oral problems are kept away”.
As soon as we observe a broken or a cracked tooth we must see our dental doctor immediately.
Cracked/Broken tooth is very common in people and does not need complicated procedures to cure if they are treated immediately.
We keep treating patients who come to hospital panicking about some sudden pain in their teeth which is temporary and lasts for few seconds, these patients have cracked/broken tooth of different forms.
We counsel them about their problem and suggest them about the treatment, and after care instructions,
A pile of some information about cracked tooth, symptoms, treatment and its recovery.
Cracked Tooth:
A crack in the tooth is caused due to too much pressure on teeth from grinding of teeth, chewing hard foods or a weak tooth.
There are different types of Cracked tooth. Their treatment depends on the type of cracks, location and depth of the crack.
Some insights on the different types of cracked tooth.
1.Hairline Tooth fracture:
Hairline tooth fracture is a very small crack on the tooth it is very hard to diagnose as it cannot be seen through the naked eye.
It is one of the main causes for tooth loss.
when there is pressure like chewing a hard food using the fractured tooth,hairline fracture causes temporary pain only for fraction of seconds and disappears.
 
2.Craze lines:
Craze lines are micro small cracks formed in the enamel, they do not cause any pain and do not need any treatment.
These are very commonly found in adults.
3.Cracks extended into the gum line:
Vertical Root Fracture, it is a serious root fracture, these cracks begins in the gum line, roots and travel upwards to the tooth.
It does not have any symptoms to be diagnosed.
If the tooth is infected in this type of crack then it is the best option to extract the tooth.
4.Fractured cusp:
When our lingual and buccal cusps weaken and if pressure is applied on the weaken cusps by chewing some hard substances, it causes fracture in the cusps.
These cusps break themselves due to weakness which causes pain.
Once these broken cusps are removed by our endodontist our pain will be relieved.
These does not necessarily affect the pulp of the tooth.
5.Split tooth:
Split tooth indicates the complete fracture of the tooth initiated from the surface below the gum line and roots.
The split does not appear suddenly, it is the growth of cracks along the roots to the surface from long time.
Sometimes only single root(upper molar root) is effected where the other roots stay healthy, in such cases only one side of the tooth can be removed and other half of the tooth can be saved.
This missing tooth can be replaced by implants.

           Cracked Tooth Symptoms, Treatments, and Recovery

1. Sudden pain is observed for a while with no reason.
2. A temporary pain that lasts for little time is observed while chewing, biting and especially while releasing the bite.
3. Sensitivity to different temperatures such as cold, hot,sour and sweet.
4. Swollen gums around the teeth that hurts with no reason.

If these cracks go deep into the gums and affect the pulp of the tooth then a root canal surgery becomes necessary to save the tooth.
Cracked tooth treatments:
A crack tooth can never be 100% healed by itself. Immediate treatment by a professional dentist is the only way to save the cracked tooth.
1.Crown:
Placing a crown to save the cracked tooth is a prosthetic process made of ceramic or porcelain that fits over cracked tooth or caps it.
A part of enamel is removed to create space to fit the crown in the cracked place, Dentist choose the matching color of the gums and tooth and sends the impression to the dental lab to make the crown.
Making Crown takes two weeks, once it is ready dentist fits the crown in the cracked place and does cement filling.
Crown will last for life time with proper care.
 
2.Bonding:
In this process doctor uses plastic resin to fill the crack to give the look of natural tooth and function normally.
3.Root Canal:
This procedure is recommended only when the crack is intense into the pulp of the tooth.
This process digs deep into the gums and removes the pulp of the tooth and protects the tooth.
4.Extraction:
When the nerves,tissues and roots of teeth are totally damaged, the process of extraction is necessary while there are no other options of treatments left to repair the tooth.
Diagnosis of Cracked tooth:
It is not easy to diagnose a cracked tooth.
Steps to identify the cracks in the tooth:
 
Through Symptoms:
Initially, doctors will try to diagnose the cracked tooth from the symptoms told by the patients.
Through Lens:
If the doctors are not able to predict the problem then they use the magnifying lens to see the cracks on the tooth.
Physical Examination:
If the cracks are not diagnosed through lens, doctors run a dental explorer physically and try to catch the crack in the tooth.
Probing your gums:
Doctors looks out for inflammation in the gums and tries to figure out the cracks in the tooth.
Dental Dye:
Applying dental dye on the tooth can help the cracks to stand out visually.
X – Ray:
X- Ray does not help in identifying the cracks but doctors try to look for poor or affected pulp and try to identify the cracks.
Conclusion:
Cracked tooth recovery:
Cracked tooth cannot be healed completely but they can be recovered by taking necessary precautions and prompt treatment whenever required.
It is better to avoid bad eating habits that cause infections or inflammations to the tooth.