A fractured tooth may hurt even if the crack has not reached the pulp. A cracked tooth can start off as a small irritating sensitivity but left untreated, it can lead to extreme pain and tenderness which is easily prevented by a trip to the dentist. Your dental professional could make a night safeguard a molded bite element to stop you from grinding the teeth. Cracked teeth — treatment rational and case management: case reports. Other symptoms may include pain on release of pressure when fibrous foods are eaten, 'rebound pain'. Quintessence Int 1994; 25: 321—326. The treatment you receive for your cracked tooth is important because it will relieve pain and reduce the likelihood that the crack will worsen.
The bigger of the two elements of a multiple rooted separate tooth could be rescued after root canal therapy and dental crown repair. Agar J R, Weller R N. This could lead to an infection of the surrounding gum around the fractured tooth. J Am Dent Assoc 1976; 93: 971—975. When diagnosing cracked tooth syndrome, a dentist takes many factors into consideration. Deep cusp-fossa relationships which arise as a result of the over-contouring of restorations may also contribute to the fracture of the non-functional cusp.
Transillumination is particularly useful when all restorations have been removed. The latter concept was coined by Cameron in 1964, who proceeded to define the condition as 'an incomplete fracture of a vital posterior tooth that involves the dentine and occasionally extends to the pulp'. The value of early diagnosis to prevent tooth loss will become more important with an aging population. Beside the extended time that teeth are used, the number of dental procedures performed on each tooth is increasing making them more susceptible to cracking. Vertical fractures of posterior teeth. Therefore, cracked tooth treatment is focusing in enhancing the structural strength of the tooth and preventing the crack from becoming worse and causing a broken tooth. That first sign of sensitivity can cause fear as we start to wonder what the underlying cause and implications will be.
Minor tooth fractures are unlikely to cause symptoms, so the problem may exist for a long time before the cracked tooth syndrome symptoms appear. In situations of single rooted tooth, the tooth needs to be extracted. Diagnosis and treatment of the cracked tooth. However, they may be of value in detecting more rarely occurring fractures which may be running in a bucco-lingual direction and for excluding other dental pathology. However, it is important to gain prior consent from the patient as the use of such a test may cause cuspal fragmentation! Transillumination Transillumination is best performed by placing a fibre optic light source directly onto the tooth and optimal results can be achieved with the aid of magnification.
In some cases, such as in vertical root fractures split root in single rooted teeth, the only treatment option is tooth extraction. After the root canal treatment, the tooth will no longer be sensitive to temperature but it will still respond to pressure, therefore the gum may still ache. A complete oral examination, dental history, radiographs and the use of a fiber optic hand piece can assist in the detection of cracks. You are not going to sense a constant pain, just like you could in case you have a cavity or perhaps abscess. Placement of a crown on a cracked tooth provides maximum protection but does not guarantee success in all cases. Fuss Z, Lustig J, Katz A, Tamse A.
Coronal cracks can be predictably treated. Only if the cracks are wide enough, they may show up as shadows. You many also develop an infection. Chipped teeth account for the majority of dental injuries. The involved cusp can be determined by biting on individual cusps separately. Incomplete crown-root fractures in pulpal periodontal disease.
I think that the fact that a cracked tooth can injure nerves can cause pain in different areas throughout the mouth. The pain is often inconsistent, and frequently hard to reproduce. When the tension of biting down creates discomfort, the fractured part of the tooth is found. Dent Clin North Am 1991; 35: 245—252. The third category, cracked teeth, may or may not present with a restoration.
It is ironic, however, that dentine pins are often used to restore fractured cusps among teeth which have been lost through cracked tooth syndrome. After a root canal, the tooth will no longer be sensitive to temperature, but it still will respond to pressure. Tooth fractures can be highlighted by the use of stains although this may be difficult to remove and colour the final aesthetic restoration. To properly investigate the extent of a crack, the removal of all restorations, caries, and associated crack lines is critical. Some teeth have cracks that are too small to show up on. A crown will allow chewing forces to move the whole tooth rather than splitting it apart.