Most Common Reasons Why You Have A Cracked Tooth Article

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Most Common Reasons Why You Have a Cracked Tooth

As a dentist who handles emergency cases at his Saratoga Springs-based practice, Glenn Park DDS PLLC, Dr. Glenn Park frequently hears from patients who ask to come in for immediate appointments because they think they have a crack in a front tooth. According to Park, there are a few causes for cracked teeth that come up more than anything else.

Author: Glenn Park

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To different people, the term “cracked tooth” can mean different things. Some people might refer to a small chip as a crack, while other people think craze lines are the same thing as a cracked tooth. Neither of these is the actual definition of a cracked tooth, though—which is when one or more teeth are fractured.

Craze Lines
A lot of people come into my office if they notice a fine line on one of their front teeth—usually after they were looking in the mirror in the bathroom or after a friend told them they noticed it. They think it’s cracked, and they don’t know what to do with it. In these cases, though, the line might not actually be a tooth crack. Instead, the fine line is something known as a craze line.

These painless lines only affect the outer layer of the enamel or the outer layer of the tooth, and because of that there is usually nothing that a dentist can do to get rid of them. If the issue is staining, then we will remove that. But generally, light fracture lines or craze lines do happen in the enamel and there is nothing we can do about it.

Craze lines happen in the enamel because the enamel on teeth is very fragile. When a fine line occurs, it means there is damage in the enamel, but not necessarily in the tooth itself. The fact that the tooth does not actually hurt is a telltale sign that what the patient thinks is a cracked tooth is actually just a craze line.

Trauma
In my experience, the most common cause of cracked teeth is basic trauma. When a person is in a car accident or when an object hits him in the face, one of the common results will be a broken or cracked tooth. Even something as simple as a dog jumping up and hitting a person in the face—something has happened to me on multiple occasions—can have enough force to cause a crack in one of the front teeth.

In Saratoga Springs, many people need an emergency dentist for more than just help with craze lines. Things like breaking off a filling, breaking off part of a tooth, or breaking part of a crown can be extremely painful. Although there are countless ways that these breaks and cracks can happen, trauma is typically the most common culprit.

Chewing
Chew is the second most common cause of tooth cracks or breaks. When people are chewing, or masticating, they will sometimes cause a tooth fracture that could be extremely painful. However, the basic act of chewing should not cause breakage in an otherwise healthy tooth. If a tooth breaks while a patient is eating something basic, then that is usually a sign that something else is going on.

When a filling is done on a tooth, the structure of that tooth is weakened. Whether it is a filling made of silver amalgam filling or just basic tooth colored composite material, a tooth with a filling is less stable than a healthy tooth without a filling. As a filling gets older, the amount of force on a tooth can get larger and larger. It is at this point when anything—be it a soft food or a hard food—could cause the tooth to fracture due to biting.

Other Causes
You are using your mouth three times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for the most part. Because of that, when you put your mouth in extreme situations—by biting your nails, chewing on ice cubes, biting on pencils, or using your teeth as tools where they shouldn’t be—you will eventually end up fracturing or cracking a tooth.

In short, the above reasons are the most common causes based on the patients I see who need an emergency dentist in Saratoga Springs. While there are all sorts of minor issues that could cause a fractured or cracked tooth, trauma, due to sports or accidents, and a decrease in stabilization due to an older filling being left in the mouth, are the two most common reasons why patients end up cracking their teeth.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

About Author

Glenn Park is a writer for Yodle Dental Marketing, a business directory and online advertising company. Find a dentist or more related articles at Yodle’s Guide to Dentistry.

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Most Common Reasons Why You Have a Cracked Tooth