Whether your tooth cracks from an injury or general wear and tear, you can experience a variety of symptoms ranging from erratic pain when you chew your food to sudden pain when your tooth is exposed to very hot or cold temperatures. In many cases, the pain may come and go and your dentist may have difficulty locating the tooth causing the discomfort. If you experience these symptoms or suspect a cracked tooth, it\u2019s best to see an endodontist as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
Endodontists specialize in saving cracked teeth and will cater treatment to the type, location, and extent of the crack. The sooner your tooth is treated, the better the outcome. Once treated, most cracked teeth continue to function as they should, for many years of pain-free biting and chewing.<\/p>\n
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There are many different types of cracked teeth. The treatment and outcome for your tooth depends on the type, location and extent of the crack.<\/p>\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Craze lines are tiny cracks that affect only the outer enamel. These cracks are extremely common in adult teeth. Craze lines are very shallow, cause no pain, and are of no concern beyond appearances.<\/p>\n
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When a piece of a tooth\u2019s chewing surface breaks off, often around a filling, it\u2019s called a fractured cusp. A fractured cusp rarely damages the pulp, and usually doesn\u2019t cause much pain. Your dentist can place a new filling or crown over the damaged tooth to protect it.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve cracked a tooth and breathing through your mouth or drinking cold fluids is painful, bite on clean, moist gauze or cloth to help relieve symptoms until reaching your dentist\u2019s office. Never use topical oral pain medication (such as Anbesol) or ointments, or place aspirin on the affected area to eliminate pain symptoms.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
A cracked tooth means a crack extends from the chewing surface of your tooth vertically toward the root. The tooth is not yet separated into pieces, though the crack may gradually spread. Early diagnosis is important in order to save the tooth. If the crack has extended into the pulp, the tooth can be treated with a root canal procedure and a crown to protect the crack from spreading.<\/p>\n
However, if the crack extends below the gum line, it is no longer treatable, and the tooth cannot be saved and will need to be extracted. That\u2019s why early treatment is so important. A cracked tooth that is not treated will progressively worsen, eventually resulting in the loss of the tooth. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential in saving these teeth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cracked Tooth Specialist Whether your tooth cracks from an injury or general wear and tear, you can experience a variety of symptoms ranging from erratic pain when you chew your food to sudden pain when your tooth is exposed to very hot or cold temperatures. In many cases, the pain may come and go and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":542,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n