Cracked Teeth
One of the most common dental injuries US people develop is cracked teeth. Several reasons can cause it, trauma being one of the major causes. Cracked teeth can also be caused by other factors, including the age of the tooth, tooth grinding, and chewing hard foods. If you have a cracked tooth, you will most likely experience pain that comes and goes throughout the day. When you bite food, pieces of the tooth shift, and this causes pain in the pulp.
Symptoms of cracked teeth are:
- Swollen gums around the teeth
- Pain while biting and chewing food
- Extreme sensitivity to cold or hot foods
Cracked Teeth - Causes
One of the most common reasons for cracked teeth is trauma caused by accidents or while playing sports. Chewing hard foods, frequent changes in mouth temperature while drinking hot coffee followed by eating ice cream, etc., can also contribute to tooth breakages. People over the age of 50 are most likely to experience broken teeth, so age is also a causing factor of cracked teeth.
Types of Fractured Teeth
You may experience different types of cracks, that includes:
- Fractured cusp:They happen near a filling and can lead to pain in the tooth root.
- Craze lines: They are so small, and usually do not need treatment.
- Split tooth: They are trauma so severe that only parts of the tooth may be saved.
- Vertical root fracture: Here, the trauma runs deep into your gums and hence requires tooth extraction.
Diagnosing a cracked tooth root is difficult as many people do not experience any pain, and sometimes, it does not even show up on X-rays. For a proper diagnosis, your endodontist will ask you to bite, and then, he will examine your teeth and search for gum inflammation and other indicators of poor dental health.
Cracked Tooth Root Repair
If you experience severe pain or a crack in your tooth that reaches down to the pulp, the best solution will be to get a root canal treatment. Your endodontist will remove the affected pulp and try to reinforce the structure of the tooth. Only if the crack is too severe for the tooth to be saved, the dentist will opt for extraction as a last resort. In such cases, restorative options like bridges, dental implants, and partial dentures can be used to restore biting, chewing, and speaking functions.
If you have a cracked tooth and is suffering from severe pain because of it, reach out to Greenroot Endodontics by scheduling an appointment in any of our branches in San Jose or Fremont for further assistance. Call us today.
