Cracked tooth syndrome

Cracked tooth syndrome (CTS) is where a tooth has incompletely cracked but no part of the tooth has yet broken off. Sometimes it is described as a greenstick fracture. The symptoms are very variable, making it a notoriously difficult condition to diagnose. Cracked tooth syndrome could be considered a type of dental trauma and also one of the possible causes of dental pain. One definition of cracked tooth syndrome is "a fracture plane of unknown depth and direction passing through tooth structure that, if not already involving, may progress to communicate with the pulp and/or periodontal ligament." The reported symptoms are very variable, and frequently have been present for many months before the condition is diagnosed. Reported symptoms may include some of the following: Sharp pain when biting on a certain tooth, which may get worse if the applied biting force is increased. Sometimes the pain on biting occurs when the food being chewed is soft with harder elements, e.g. seeded bread. "Rebound pain" i.e. sharp, fleeting pain occurring when the biting force is released from the tooth, which may occur when eating fibrous foods. Pain on biting Pain when grinding the teeth backward and forward and side to side. Sharp pain when drinking cold beverages or eating cold foods, lack of pain with heat stimuli. Pain when eating or drinking sugary substances. Sometimes the pain is well localized, and the individual is able to determine the exact tooth from which the symptoms are originating, but not always. If the crack propagates into the pulp, irreversible pulpitis, pulpal necrosis and periapical periodontitis may develop, with the respective associated symptoms. CTS is typically characterized by pain when releasing biting pressure on an object. This is because when biting down the segments are usually moving apart and thereby reducing the pressure in the nerves in the dentin of the tooth. When the bite is released the "segments" snap back together sharply increasing the pressure in the intradentin nerves causing pain.

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Related concepts (3)

Toothache

Toothache, also known as dental pain, is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the teeth by non-dental diseases. When severe it may impact sleep, eating, and other daily activities. Common causes include inflammation of the pulp, (usually in response to tooth decay, dental trauma, or other factors), dentin hypersensitivity, apical periodontitis (inflammation of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone around the root apex), dental abscesses (localized collections of pus), alveolar osteitis ("dry socket", a possible complication of tooth extraction), acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (a gum infection), and temporomandibular disorder.

Cracked tooth syndrome

Dental extraction

A dental extraction (also referred to as tooth extraction, exodontia, exodontics, or informally, tooth pulling) is the removal of teeth from the dental alveolus (socket) in the alveolar bone. Extractions are performed for a wide variety of reasons, but most commonly to remove teeth which have become unrestorable through tooth decay, periodontal disease, or dental trauma, especially when they are associated with toothache.