It is important to understand the severity of a cracked tooth and how crucial it is to get immediate treatment once aware of the crack. A cracked tooth can lead to serious health issues if left untreated. In most cases, a cracked tooth is able to be saved if the dentist sees it in a reasonable amount of time, and if the crack isn’t a problem yet.

What is a cracked tooth?

A cracked tooth occurs when something hard impacts the teeth and leaves damage to them. Sometimes, the crack in the tooth may be small, which doesn’t affect the tooth as much and can be an easy fix. However, if the crack is large enough, it can cause the tooth to split or fall apart, declaring it a dental emergency.

There are five different kinds of cracks that can happen on the tooth, with their own levels of severity. These cracks are classified as:

1. Cracked tooth: A crack that runs vertically through the tooth from the top of the biting surface, to sometimes even the gumline or the root of the tooth.
2. Craze lines: Also known as hairline cracks, they are small and usually do no immediate damage to the deepest parts of the tooth. These usually don’t hurt the client when formed.
3. Fractured cusp: This is when a crack starts to form around a dental filling that the dentist implanted. These usually don’t hurt the client as well when they form.
4. Split tooth: This is when the crack itself splits the tooth, sometimes even down to the gumline and root. The client may feel some pain here when this crack forms, due to the exposure of the root through the crack.
5. Vertical root fracture: This crack forms below the gumline and runs up towards the top of the biting surface of the tooth. These cracks usually produce no pain unless there is already rotting or infection of the tooth pulp.

What causes a tooth to crack?

Hard impacts straight to the teeth, or the realigning of the teeth, can cause a tooth to crack. Either biting into something hard or hitting the teeth against a hard surface can cause the teeth to crack under the pressure. In addition, grinding of the teeth can wear down the teeth and cause them to crack. In some special cases, age can cause the teeth to crack over time. Another way to crack the tooth is through some dental treatments, if not done right, or if the body rejects them.

What are some ways a dentist can fix a cracked tooth?

If the crack is not as bad, the dentist may perform dental bonding (filling the cracks with colored resin) or dental contouring, where the sharp edges are filed down and smoothed out.

In some cases where the crack is severe, a root canal or tooth extraction may happen to clear out the infected pulp, or if the tooth is unsavable and will cause more harm to keep it. The tooth then gets replaced with a dental implant or a crown on it to protect the rest of the tooth.

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