Fractured cusp It rarely damages the pulp and doesn't cause much pain. A fractured cusp occurs when weakening of the cusp happens through prolonged excessive force or severe tooth decay. Common forces to cause a fractured cusp are, chronic grinding and clenching, trauma, failed restorations, and biting into hard foods.
However, while many cracked teeth are painful, that's not always true. You may have a cracked tooth but didn't immediately realize it because it doesn't hurt.
Craze lines are multiple tiny cracks that only impact the outer enamel. They can occur on the front or back teeth but are more noticeable if they appear on your front ones. So what causes them? They're typically caused by years of chewing and regular wear and tear of teeth.
Age: Your enamel gradually thins and becomes more brittle over time. As the enamel weakens, it's more susceptible to hairline fractures. You might notice that small cracks in teeth appear the older you get, especially if you don't practice good oral hygiene.
Small cracks may not require any treatment. . However, your dentist may recommend a crown, root canal, or even extraction if your tooth is more severely damaged. It's best to visit a dentist if you feel anything amiss in your mouth.
A dying tooth may appear yellow, light brown, gray, or even black. It may look almost as if the tooth is bruised. The discoloration will increase over time as the tooth continues to decay and the nerve dies. If you experience any symptoms of a dying tooth, it's important to see your dentist right away.
Ideally, patients should schedule a visit to have the cracked tooth treated within a few days after the crack occurs and no more than two weeks after the incident. If symptoms begin to worsen, an emergency visit to the dentist for immediate care is most likely necessary.
Some types of cracks are harmless and do not require treatment. However, if a person notices the following symptoms, they may have a more extensive type of crack that requires dental treatment: pain when eating, particularly when chewing or biting. swollen gums around the cracked tooth.
You can still brush a broken tooth, but you should be gentle and very careful while doing so. Brushing too hard could cause pain or further damage to the tooth, especially if the nerves on the inside of the tooth are exposed. Flossing around a damaged tooth may help to reduce pain or pressure on the broken tooth.
It is possible for a tooth to repair itself if the damage is minimal. For example, if a tooth with a crack on the outer level and a minimal fracture line that does not cause pain may repair itself over time. The healing process is known as remineralization and refers to the minerals in our mouths.
Dentists may prescribe crown treatments for hairline cracks associated with large cavities. A crown covers damaged teeth with materials such as porcelain and metal. The reinforced material strengthens the shape and structure of damaged teeth to prevent further damage caused by hairline cracks.
A cracked or fractured tooth is a common occurrence, sometimes accompanied by pain and discomfort. However, a cracked tooth doesn't always need an extraction or pulling. Your dentist can evaluate your teeth during a dental exam and recommend a treatment.
The most common cause of front-tooth fracture is trauma or physical injury. For fractures where the tooth pulp is not affected, a root canal will not be necessary, except if patients show signs of pulpitis (pulp infection). If the pulp gets exposed due to breakage, a root canal will certainly be necessary.
A dentist often diagnoses a crack by observing a crack line, which is a line segment from the perimeter of a fracture plane, such that this line segment is also located on a tooth surface that a dentist can observe. Observation of the crack line does not necessarily indicate the fracture plane size and shape.
Tooth Sensitivity or Pain – As the nerves that lead to a dying tooth begin to die away, they may become extra sensitive, causing you a tooth ache or sensitivity to hot or cold foods. You may experience pain while chewing at or around the site of the dead tooth.
If the tooth is dead, it will often get darker in color, and a person may notice a yellow, gray, or black discoloration. A change in color usually occurs because the red blood cells are dying. This is a very similar effect to bruising.
A dead tooth takes up either a caramel brown colour or a grey dull colour. It's one way or the other. There is a cure and the answer is non vital bleaching. This is where a root canal treatment is performed, or if previously in place it is slightly modified and bleach is put into the back of the tooth.
Since most cracks are vertically down the tooth, they will not show up on the xray. This is because the xray beam is not parallel to the crack. Instead, the natural tooth structure will cover up the crack.
Craze lines are hairline fractures in the outer enamel of the tooth and presents as vertical lines commonly found in the front adult teeth. (See figure 1, courtesy of Spear Education, and also read How To Classify the 5 Types of Cracked Teeth.) They are very shallow and painless and usually cause no issues.
The most significant complications of a cracked tooth affect you are infections spreading to the bone and gums. In addition, you can develop a dental abscess causing fever, swollen gums, sensitivity to temperatures, pain when eating, and tender glands in the neck.
Leaving a broken tooth untreated can also potentially cause more risk of other surrounding teeth becoming infected as well, impacting overall health. Complete, immediate repairs are always best. The longer you wait, the more in-depth treatment could be.
A crack that extends below the gum line, or one that is never treated, will likely need to be removed altogether. Craze lines, on the other hand, are not considered a dental emergency. These lines are much smaller cracks that can be seen in the outer enamel. They do not cause pain as a cracked tooth might.
If you want to fix a small chip or crack in the tooth, you can easily use a dental wax on its edge. It prevents any sharp edge from damaging the mouth and its soft tissues.
For a moderate crack – dental crown
A dental crown is also called a dental cap, as this dental treatment option is one that fits over a cracked tooth in order to give it back its strength. Dental crowns are custom-made for every patient, which means they can expect the crown to blend in with the rest of their teeth.