What causes cracks in teeth?

During daily diet, some people may suddenly feel a piercing pain when eating. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, among which tooth cracks are a relatively common phenomenon. Tooth cracks are generally invisible to the naked eye. The cracks are very small, but this crack has damaged the internal structure of the tooth. At this time, you should go to the hospital for examination and receive appropriate treatment in time.

Hidden cracks in teeth can often hide

Tooth cracks refer to non-physiological small cracks that occur on the surface of teeth, which often overlap with the pits and fissures on the tooth surface and extend to one or both sides of the marginal ridge. There are no obvious symptoms of tooth cracks at first, and patients will only notice it when they experience pain when biting something. To make a simple analogy, a tooth fracture is like a crack in a wall. When the crack first starts to form, water will not seep in, but when the crack is deep enough to penetrate the wall, water seepage may occur. "Tooth cracks first occur in the outermost enamel layer of the tooth. At this time, the patient often has no symptoms. When the cracks penetrate deep into the dentin or involve the dental nerve cavity, pulpitis symptoms will appear. Too cold or too hot food will irritate the pain, and the patient dare not chew with the affected tooth. Many people only see a doctor at this time. Some even develop spontaneous pain or night pain in the tooth before seeing a doctor. However, although the doctor can control the pain and complete the treatment procedure for the patient, the prognosis of the affected tooth is not good.

Don't underestimate these non-physiological tiny cracks in teeth. If they are discovered too late, they will cause a lot of trouble. Among patients who require endodontic treatment, 1/4 is caused by tooth cracks. Although tooth cracks are not as common as tooth decay, they are not easy to detect. Many people may not know that the root cause of their teeth is tooth cracks until they have to have their teeth extracted.

Who is most likely to have cracked teeth?

Experts point out that in addition to tooth development factors, people with particularly high "tooth tips" and those who like to bite hard objects are most likely to have tooth cracks. Professor Lin Zhengmei pointed out that the increased biting force exerted on certain teeth is an important reason for the occurrence of hidden cracks in them. "There are grooves and pits on the occlusal surface of teeth, which disperse the force generated when biting things and have a splitting effect on the teeth. Some teeth with particularly high cusps and those used more frequently are subject to greater force, and the greater the horizontal component of force generated, the greater the chance of hidden cracks." Biting hard objects such as beer caps, walnut shells, and bone residues is also an important reason for the increase in bite force on certain teeth, and cracks will appear on the teeth over time.

How to prevent

Hidden tooth cracks are very "insidious", difficult to diagnose clinically and with poor treatment results, but there are clues to be found. Experts point out that hidden tooth cracks can go from being asymptomatic to having symptoms. Since they are difficult to detect when they are asymptomatic, in addition to a comprehensive oral examination every six months to a year, you should seek medical attention immediately when you have symptoms, even if it is only mild pain. Minor cracks can be treated by adjusting the teeth and grinding them to balance the force on all the teeth during use, or by reinforcing them with an artificial "cap" called a porcelain crown before the crack reaches the dental nerve cavity. When the crack penetrates deep into the pulp, root canal treatment must be performed before the "cap" is put on. If the crack continues to develop and affects the tooth root, it will usually lead to repeated periodontal infection, and the diseased tooth has almost no value in being retained, so it can only be extracted.

People who love to chew hard objects are more likely to have cracked teeth. People who have had their teeth filled should avoid chewing nuts.

Experts point out that avoiding excessive force on teeth is one of the important measures to prevent tooth cracks:

1. Eat less hard objects. The hard objects mentioned here mainly refer to beer caps, walnut shells, bone residues, etc. It is also not recommended for people with large areas of fillings on their teeth to eat nuts often, because these filled teeth cannot withstand as much as healthy teeth.

2. Treat bruxism. Some people do not take bruxism seriously and ignore treatment. Bruxism will wear away healthy teeth. At the same time, uneven wear will cause the cusps and marginal ridges of the occlusal surface to be high, which may easily lead to hidden tooth cracks.

3. Avoid chewing on one side. Unilateral chewing will increase the load on the teeth on that side and may also cause tooth cracks.

4. Repair missing teeth as soon as possible. Missing teeth can lead to uneven distribution of bite force throughout the mouth, causing the remaining healthy teeth to be overloaded and cause tooth cracks.