Treatment
Cracked tooth syndrome in Corby
A sharp, fleeting pain when you bite — or, oddly, when you let go — usually means a crack. Cracks do not appear on ordinary X-rays and are easy to miss, so locating one and judging how deep it runs calls for a deliberate, step-by-step examination.
Why teeth crack
Molars and premolars carry heavy loads, and a tooth weakened by a large filling has less structure to resist them. Clenching and grinding, biting on something unexpectedly hard, chewing ice and simple wear over many years can all start a crack that deepens little by little. A root-treated tooth left without a crown is especially at risk.
What it feels like
- a sharp jolt on biting that vanishes the moment you release;
- pain that is hard to place and comes and goes;
- sensitivity to cold or sweet things in a tooth with no visible decay;
- discomfort only when you bite on one particular point.
If the crack reaches the pulp the pattern changes: the pain starts on its own or lingers after hot and cold, and the tooth behaves like one that needs root canal treatment.
How the crack is located
Several tests are used together because no single one is conclusive. You bite, cusp by cusp, on a small plastic instrument to reproduce the pain; dye is applied to stain the crack line; a strong light is shone through the tooth to see where it is interrupted; and the tooth is examined under the operating microscope, which shows fine cracks clearly. X-rays exclude other causes and show the bone, and nerve tests establish whether the pulp is still healthy.
Treatment depends on depth
A shallow crack confined to the crown of the tooth is usually treated by your dentist with an onlay or crown that binds the tooth together and stops the crack spreading. A crack that has reached the pulp needs root canal treatment before the tooth is crowned. A crack that runs below the gum or splits the root means the tooth cannot be saved, and the kindest advice is extraction and a plan for a replacement. Whatever the finding, you receive it in writing with the reasoning behind it.
The case for acting early
Cracks never get shallower. A tooth examined when the first twinges appear stands a good chance of being protected and kept for years; one that has been chewed on for a year while the crack grows may not. If biting has been giving you that sharp, brief pain for more than a couple of weeks, have it looked at.