Treatment Options for a Cracked Tooth
A cracked tooth is painful, and that pain can flare up when you chew, drink a steaming hot or ice-cold drink, or just occur randomly. Having a cracked tooth not only affects your overall dental health but also your well-being.
Thankfully, if you crack a tooth, there are plenty of treatment options available. Here at Charlotte Root Canal Center located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ramesh K. Sunar, DMD, and his staff specialize in treating cracked teeth and can help you find the relief you need.
What to expect with a cracked tooth
If you have a cracked tooth, you can definitely expect some pain. The severity of your pain depends on the type of crack and whether your pulp is damaged.
Unlike a cavity, a cracked tooth won’t cause constant pain, but the pain will come and go. Sudden pressure from mouth movements or eating something really hot or cold can cause shooting pain.
The most common causes of a cracked tooth include:
Injury
Wear-and-tear
Grinding or clenching the teeth
Certain tooth alignments that put too much pressure on one tooth
A tooth with a large filling
Root canal
Regardless of how you cracked your tooth (teeth), Dr. Sunar can determine the crack’s severity and begin treatment before it gets worse.
What type of crack does your tooth have?
Surprisingly, there are several types of cracked teeth, and they all have different symptoms and treatments.
Split crack- A split crack is a type of crack that splits your tooth into two sections. The crack runs from the tooth’s surface up to the gums. Treating a split crack involves extracting the damaged tooth and replacing it with an implant or bridge.
Vertical root fracture - A vertical root fracture often occurs after a root canal and starts near the crown of the tooth and stops just beneath the gum line. The problem with this type of crack is that it often has no symptoms unless the tooth has an infection. Vertical root fractures usually require a tooth extraction.
Craze lines - If you have craze lines, which are small, microscopic cracks in your tooth enamel, you may not need any treatment. The enamel can rebuild on its own, healing the cracks.
Fractured cusp - A fractured cusp is a crack on a dental filling, so they normally don’t cause any pain. This type of crack can be treated with a resin filling.
Treating a cracked tooth
Treatment options for a cracked tooth vary by the type of crack, however, the four main treatments include:
Bonding or filling the crack
Root canal
Dental crown
Tooth extraction
If you have a cracked tooth, or suspect your tooth is cracked, schedule an appointment at Charlotte Root Canal Center. Dr. Sunar may be able to save your tooth. Contact our office by phone or visit our website to request your appointment with Dr. Sunar.