BerkshireFamilyDental – Dr. Chehayeb - June 2009

Cracked Teeth: How your dentist can help restore them.

One of the easiest accidents to happen involving the teeth is a chip, break, or crack. Just bite down on a piece of hard candy, accidentally hit the pit of a cherry or an olive, or encounter an unexpected stone or hardened and crystallized bit of food and all of sudden you have a cracked tooth. Or you can chip or crack your tooth on a bottle while drinking, on a trumpet while playing, or by getting hit during sports or while taking a tumble down the stairs, on an icy sidewalk, or when tripping over a stone or root while hiking in the woods. Once the tooth is cracked it doesn’t sit properly against the other teeth, and can be a constant annoyance each time you close your teeth together. It makes it harder to properly chew food, and can eventually lead to more cracks that weaken the tooth and lead to serious dental health issues.

Teeth can also crack due to weakness caused by improper or outdated fillings, a poor diet, or even the shock of drilling done by a dentist who may not have the best equipment or drilling skills. While drilling in one area of the tooth, in other words, the vibration can cause a hairline crack in another section of the tooth. That even happens once in a while because there are cracks forming in the tooth that are not detectable by the dentist and are too small to show up on X-rays. So there are many ways that teeth can develop cracks or get chipped, and for that reason it is important to regularly visit a dental professional who can be on the lookout for preliminary signs of weaknesses and can also perform procedures to repair a cracked or otherwise broken tooth.

Sometimes – depending upon your particular situation, preferences, and the severity of the crack or chip – the dentist will fill in the crack or fissure with a special material that is also color and tone matched to your natural tooth shade. Then the repair is polished and smoothed so that it is virtually impossible to detect. For more severe cracks or chips that may gradually spread and extend to other parts of the tooth, the dentist may cover the damaged area with a crown to hold the underlying tooth securely in place and prevent it from being exposed to bacteria. Or it may be more appropriate to remove the tooth and replace it with a synthetic one, if the crack or break is so serious that it leaves too little of the original tooth in place.

Regardless of the extent of the damage or the method of repair, teeth that are cracked, chipped, or broken can be repaired to a condition that makes them function properly to ensure your health, comfort, and safety. Above and beyond those fundamental health care issues, it is also important to understand that modern cosmetic dentistry will let you have back your healthy smile. Repairs can be done in a such a way that nobody will know that you once had a cracked or broken tooth, and that is a reassuring thought to keep in mind if you ever find yourself needing a crack or chip repair.