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Cracked Tooth Syndrome
A patient by the name of Sandra, age 45, called us six
months ago. She reported that one of her teeth occasionally hurt when she was
eating. This pain was intermittent, and only occurred when she bit down on a
certain molar located toward the bottom front of her mouth. The pain was very
sharp, but lacked the aching that is normally associated with a cavity,
fracture, or abscess.
Sandra had even looked closely at the tooth in the mirror
and did not find any visible fracture or recession of the gum line. The dentist
suspected that she might have cracked tooth syndrome—a condition that results
when one or more fine cracks form in the tooth When a person bites down a
certain way, the pressure spreads that small crack and exposes the nerve to
pressure, which in turn results in a sharp, jolting pain that immediately
disappears again when the pressure is taken off the tooth and the crack closes.
Cracked tooth syndrome is not the same as what people
typically refer to as a fractured tooth. In cracked tooth syndrome, the cracks
are almost always too small for a person to see. Even dentists have to use
special instruments in most cases to detect them. Although these cracks are
very small, they are deep enough to affect the enamel, the dentin, and in some
cases, even the nerve.
Cracked tooth syndrome can be generated by a number of
causes—some that develop slowly, and some that are the result of severe trauma
to the mouth. Repetitive chewing over a period of time can cause very fine
cracks, called stress fractures-- that lead to cracked tooth syndrome. Bruxism
(or teeth grinding at night) can also crack the teeth. Any type of trauma
resulting from a fall or blow to the mouth can cause one or more cracks to form
in a tooth that absorbs all or most of the force. Chewing on ice and hard
candy is another notorious culprit of this condition.
If cracked tooth syndrome remains untreated and continues
to work its way down to the nerve cavity, then either a root canal or even tooth
extraction becomes imminent. We hoped this would not be necessary in Sandra’s
case, and got her into our office as soon as possible for treatment.
Our computer allowed us to quickly pull up Sandra’s medical
history, revealing she had suffered anxiety for several years that in turn
caused Bruxism. Further exploration of the tooth with our intraoral camera
confirmed that she indeed was suffering from cracked tooth syndrome. There was
a small, but severely deep, crack inside of the tooth that had was dangerously
close to breaking into the nerve chamber. Had the syndrome remained undetected
for as little as another 3-6 weeks, the split would have worked its way to the
nerve, and we would have had to perform a root canal.
Instead, and much to Sandra’s relief, we were able to
replace the cusp of the tooth and replace it with a crown. Last week, Sandra
sent an email thanking us and reporting that the pain has completely left her
tooth.
We are a
cosmetic dentistry company located in Houston, Texas. We service clients throughout all 50
states into cities like Houston, Texas, Scottsdale, Arizona, Seattle, Washington
(SEA),
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Boston, Massachusetts
(BOS), Princeton, NJ (EWR),
Philadelphia, PA (PHL), Dallas, Texas (DWF), Chicago, IL (ORD), Baltimore, MD (BWI),
and Minneapolis, MN (MSP). We also service clients internationally, including
Canada, Middle East, Asia, Europe, Australia, Mexico, Central America, and South
America.
Regional Cosmetic Dentistry Area Coverage
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