Why You Shouldn’t Leave a Cracked Tooth Untreated: From Fracture Symptoms to Causes, Explained by Dangsan Conservative Dentistry!

Hello,

I’m Min-young Kim, a dentist at Dangsan Conservative Dentistry.

If you feel a sharp pain only at a certain moment while eating,

you should suspect that there may be a crack.

A crack can sometimes be hard to see even on an X-ray,

so diagnosis is often delayed,

and it is easy to miss the right time to visit a clinic.

The problem is that if it is left alone,

the crack gradually gets deeper,

eventually affecting the root as well.

In severe cases, there may be no option

other than extraction.

Today, in relation to this, Dangsan Conservative Dentistry

will look at the symptoms first, then the causes, and

how it can be prevented. What are the symptoms?

The most typical symptom is

a sharp, brief pain that occurs

when eating in a certain direction.

It is characterized by a sudden sting when biting down and then releasing,

followed by quick disappearance.

Sensitivity to cold food or drinks may also occur,

and in many cases it is hard to tell exactly

which tooth is hurting.

Because these symptoms are vague,

patients often dismiss them as simple sensitivity.

Therefore, Dangsan Conservative Dentistry believes that

a precise diagnostic process is needed, using a microscope

to detect even tiny cracks that are difficult

to confirm with the naked eye. What are the main causes?

It can happen from a single strong impact,

but in most cases it occurs when repeated stress in daily life

accumulates over a long period of time.

🔻 Common examples include biting ice, frequently eating

hard foods such as nuts, or using the mouth to tear open packaging.

🔻 Teeth grinding or clenching during sleep is also

a major cause that places overload on the entire tooth.

🔻 Even when there is an old amalgam filling,

a micro crack can occur as expansion and contraction repeat

with temperature changes.

Because amalgam is a metal material,

it reacts sensitively to temperature, so caution is needed

when it has been used for a long time.

🔻 Also, if a tooth that has had root canal treatment is left

unprotected without a crown for a long time,

the risk of cracks increases.

Therefore, Dangsan Conservative Dentistry often says that

finishing treatment all the way through is more important than anything else. Vertical fracture extending to the root

A vertical root fracture refers to a crack that runs vertically

from the tooth down to the root.

It usually occurs more often in teeth that have had root canal treatment,

because after canal filling, the tooth loses moisture

and becomes more vulnerable,

making it easier to fracture vertically from external impact

or chewing pressure.

If bacteria enter through the crack,

the infection spreads to the periapical area,

and in this process, loss of the alveolar bone

that supports the tooth occurs.

Since alveolar bone is difficult to recover once damaged,

the later the diagnosis is made, the greater the damage

to the surrounding tissues can become.

A vertical root fracture often has a poor prognosis

even when treatment is attempted.

If alveolar bone destruction becomes severe,

it may even become difficult to place an implant later on,

so early extraction is often recommended.

• However, depending on the location and extent of the crack,

and the condition of the remaining alveolar bone,

the treatment direction may differ,

so it is important to decide after a precise diagnosis. How to prevent it in daily life

Once a crack occurs, it cannot recover,

and the longer it is left untreated, the wider it tends to spread.

Since prevention is the most reliable treatment,

it is a good idea to start by checking your small daily habits.

So, let’s look at what kinds of preventive measures

can be practiced in daily life with Dangsan Conservative Dentistry.

✅ First, it is best to improve habits such as chewing ice or hard foods,

and chewing tough foods only on one side.

✅ If you chew only on one side, chewing pressure becomes concentrated

on certain teeth, increasing the risk of cracks,

so it helps to develop the habit of chewing evenly on both sides.

✅ If you grind or clench your teeth,

you should wear an occlusal stabilization device

to reduce the overload placed on the teeth during sleep.

Teeth grinding is often something people do not notice themselves,

so it is recommended that you check with family members,

or get evaluated if your jaw feels tired after waking up.

✅ As mentioned earlier,

problems can also arise when there are old fillings,

so

it is necessary to regularly check the condition of fillings

through routine examinations. Cracks are not easy to see,

but the longer they are left untreated, the bigger the problem becomes.

Therefore, if sharp pain keeps recurring,

please do not simply ignore it

and get examined.

Thank you for reading this long post.

This has been Min-young Kim, dentist at Dangsan Conservative Dentistry.