Cracked Tooth Syndrome

Cracked tooth syndrome accounts for many diagnostic problems. These are incomplete fractures through the body of the tooth. The patient complains of pain ranging from mild to excruciating at the initiation or release of the biting pressure when patient bites on a cotton applicator or rubber wheel, fracture segments may separate and pain is reproduced at the initiation or release of biting pressure. This enamel crack may be better visualized using a dye or by transilluminating the tooth with a fiber optic light. Sometimes removal of an intracoronal restoration in the suspected teeth may reveal a

crack in the enamel running into the dentin.

Crack line on the root

The pulp in these teeth may become necrotic or sometimes these teeth fracture completely. If the fracture is incomplete only in enamel and dentin a full crown restoration immobilizing the fragments may be helpful.

Diagnosis

The tooth slooth is a very useful device for differentially diagnosing various stages of incomplete crown fractures. Its design permits selective application of chewing force on one cusp at a time allowing the clinician to evaluate weakness in a define areas of the tooth. It is specially effective when cotton rolls or wooden sticks are not helpful.