Cracked Tooth Syndrome

A fractured tooth, often called a cracked tooth or cracked tooth syndrome (CTS), is when a crack appears in your tooth. The crack can sometimes be small and harmless. Other times, it can cause your tooth to break or split.

Causes of Cracked Tooth Syndrome #

• Age, with many tooth cracks happening at age 50 and older.

• Biting hard foods, such as candy, ice or popcorn kernels.

• Habits, such as gum chewing, ice chewing.

• Large dental fillings or a root canal, which weaken the tooth.

• Teeth grinding (bruxism).

• Trauma, including falls, sports injuries, bike accidents, car accidents or physical violence.

Types of Cracked Tooth Syndrome #

Cracked tooth #

A vertical crack runs from the biting surface of your tooth up to your gum line. Sometimes the crack extends into your gum line and root.

Craze lines (hairline cracks) #

Small, thin cracks appear on the outer enamel of your tooth. Craze lines don’t cause any pain.

Fractured cusp #

A crack forms around a dental filling. Fractured cusps usually aren’t very painful.

Split tooth #

A crack extends from your tooth’s surface to below your gum line. This fracture splits your tooth into two parts.

Vertical root fracture #

Cracks start below your gum line and travel toward the tooth’s biting surface. Vertical root fractures may not cause symptoms unless your tooth becomes infected.

Symptoms of Cracked Tooth Syndrome #

• Pain that comes and goes, particularly when chewing.

• Sensitivity to temperature changes or eating sweet foods.

• Swelling around the tooth.

• Toothache when biting or chewing.

Diagnosis of Cracked Tooth Syndrome #

To diagnose a fractured tooth, your provider will ask about your symptoms and what caused the possible broken tooth. They will ask about trauma or injury you’ve experienced.

After that, dentist will:

• Check to see whether your tooth is broken or knocked out (avulsed tooth).

• Ask you to bite down on a stick to see if you feel pain.

• Inspect your teeth for crack lines.

• Examine your gums for inflammation, since vertical fractures may irritate your gums.

• Pass a light through your tooth to illuminate the fracture (transillumination).

• Put a staining dye on your tooth to better see the tooth crack.

• Take an X-ray of your teeth to see fractures and related issues, such as bone loss. Imaging may include a 3D scan called a cone beam CT scan that can show bone loss suggestive of a fracture.

• Use special tools to locate the crack (periodontal probing) by checking if the tools get caught on the crack.

Treatment of Cracked Tooth Syndrome #

Bonding #

Plastic resin is used to fill in the fracture.

Cosmetic contouring #

Rough edge rounding and polishing smooths out the broken tooth.

Crown #

A porcelain or ceramic cap is fitted over the fractured tooth. Often used when you don’t have enough of your natural tooth for a veneer.

Extraction #

Complete removal of your tooth. Used when the root and nerves of your tooth show severe damage.

Root canal #

Removal of damaged pulp to prevent further tooth weakening. Used when the fracture extends into the pulp.

Veneer #

A thin covering of porcelain or plastic goes over the front of the tooth. Often used when you have a good amount of your natural tooth left.