Hairline Tooth Fracture

What is a Hairline Fracture?

A hairline tooth fracture is a small crack in the tooth and it is a very common condition and one of the leading causev of tooth loss in industrialized countries. 

Types of Hairline Fractures:

A. Craze lines. Craze lines are very small cracks that appear on the enamel of your teeth. They don’t cause any pain and do not require any type of treatment.

B. Vertical crack. It runs up and down the tooth. If a tooth has a vertical crack that is above the gum line, you may be able to save the tooth and if it reaches below the gum line,you may need extraction of the tooth.

C. Split tooth. A split tooth has a crack that separates the tooth into two pieces. If the crack is too large, it’s  impossible to save the tooth.

D. Fractured cusp. Fractured cusps usually occurs around a large dental filling and they generally don’t cause much pain.Most of time you can save those by getting Cap or Crown on those teeth.

What are the causes of Hairline Tooth Fractures?

• Chewing on a piece of ice or hard candy.
• Jaw clenching or teeth grinding(Bruxism).
• A trauma to the mouth from accident, sports injury, or fall.
• Large fillings on the tooth.
• Sudden temperature changes in the mouth can cause the cracks on the tooth. For example, eating hot food and immediately drinking cold water.
• People over 50 are more prone to get cracks on their teeth.     

  What are the symptoms of a Hairline Tooth Fracture ?

  Pain when you bite.

   

  Pain that comes and goes.

  Sensitivity to hot or cold and sweets.

  Treatment Of fracture teeth includes bonding, crown , root canal treatment or extraction

Author

Nikhil Patel, DMD