Cracked Teeth
What is a Cracked Tooth
A cracked tooth is when a line splits part of your tooth, often from chewing hard stuff, grinding, or injury. It can hurt when you bite, sip hot/cold drinks, or let go of pressure, and ignoring it risks nerve damage or losing the tooth.
HURTING AND CLUES
What to Look For
Sharp ache from chewing or temperature changes; pain may vanish then return, making it tricky to spot.
When you chew, the crack parts slide and poke the tooth’s nerve inside. When you stop biting, the crack slams shut fast, causing sharp pain that might not stop over time.
Types of Cracks
fractured cusp
- Broken tooth corner
- crown fixes it, rarely needs root canal
cracked tooth
- Deep split from top to root
- Often requires root canal or worsens to loss of tooth
vertical root fracture
- Root starts cracking up
- Surgery might help or tooth comes out
craze lines
- Tiny surface scratches in enamel
- Harmless, no fix needed
split tooth
- Fully separated pieces
- partial save possible with specialist care