Fear of cracked tooth

[toraflora]

So I had this ongoing fear of two cracked teeth next to each other since a little more than 2 weeks ago when I bit too hard on a pit. It definitely had some pain the following days after, and other symptoms such as tooth sensitivity (to cold temperatures, acidic drinks, gums bled a little) and pain when biting down. I went to the dentist for a quick check-up around 5 days after the incident, and she did the bite test and an x-ray (which according to others can't really identify a crack?), and picked at the teeth/gum around the area with this dental probe. She said the gum bled a little and that I had bruised teeth/gums or something from biting too hard but no crack.

I never had obvious pain from the teeth, but I still had the mildest pain from biting down and still some sensitivity in the area, so around 3 days later I had my dental surgeon quickly look at it before doing wisdom tooth removal. He just picked at the teeth and I think also had the microscope (because he had to use it for wisdom teeth removal anyways) and said that there was no crack, but it was a pretty brief check-up. I also used to check up on the teeth with my own dental mirror I had at home and thought I saw a sliver of a line that I thought was a crack and told my dentist -- he said to not do that again because it would just scare me for no reason...?

It's been a little more than 2 weeks now, and I still have some tooth sensitivity and slight pain when I bite down on something very hard (I try it on my finger occasionally to see how it's doing). I'm extremely afraid that there is a crack that the dentist(s) didn't identify because the symptoms didn't completely disappear after some time and I'm not sure if this is concerning or normal.

Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do or any info on this? Thanks so much!

 

[Dr. Daniel]

So I had this ongoing fear of two cracked teeth next to each other since a little more than 2 weeks ago when I bit too hard on a pit. It definitely had some pain the following days after, and other symptoms such as tooth sensitivity (to cold temperatures, acidic drinks, gums bled a little) and pain when biting down. I went to the dentist for a quick check-up around 5 days after the incident, and she did the bite test and an x-ray (which according to others can't really identify a crack?), and picked at the teeth/gum around the area with this dental probe. She said the gum bled a little and that I had bruised teeth/gums or something from biting too hard but no crack.

I never had obvious pain from the teeth, but I still had the mildest pain from biting down and still some sensitivity in the area, so around 3 days later I had my dental surgeon quickly look at it before doing wisdom tooth removal. He just picked at the teeth and I think also had the microscope (because he had to use it for wisdom teeth removal anyways) and said that there was no crack, but it was a pretty brief check-up. I also used to check up on the teeth with my own dental mirror I had at home and thought I saw a sliver of a line that I thought was a crack and told my dentist -- he said to not do that again because it would just scare me for no reason...?

It's been a little more than 2 weeks now, and I still have some tooth sensitivity and slight pain when I bite down on something very hard (I try it on my finger occasionally to see how it's doing). I'm extremely afraid that there is a crack that the dentist(s) didn't identify because the symptoms didn't completely disappear after some time and I'm not sure if this is concerning or normal.

Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do or any info on this? Thanks so much!

Hi,

Cracks are a bit tricky to diagnose. I think the big question here is how did your symptoms develop over these last two weeks:
If there is a crack inside the tooth structure (enamel and dentine) then it should get bigger and more painful over time.
If at least one of the teeth has a filling, it could be a crack between the filling and the tooth. Then the pain should stay stable and be painful only when chewing in specific angels. This sort of crack can be easily treated with a new filling.
If there is no crack but only the tissues holding the tooth were traumatized and need to “take it easy” and heal, you should feel improvement over these two weeks until it eventually gone.
Hope it helps.

 

[toraflora]

Thank you for the reply! None of the two teeth have any fillings and I do not believe the symptoms have gotten worse. I'm wondering how long it would take for the symptoms to disappear? It was not as bad as the days following the incident -- I'm not sure if it's getting better now but it is better than the first few days. Part of my concern is that it's been a little over 2 weeks since the incident and the symptoms still have not completely gone away (sensitive & slight pain when biting hard). Could that be tooth trauma even after that period of time and no complete recovery, or could it be a concern for a tooth crack?

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Thank you for the reply! None of the two teeth have any fillings and I do not believe the symptoms have gotten worse. I'm wondering how long it would take for the symptoms to disappear? It was not as bad as the days following the incident -- I'm not sure if it's getting better now but it is better than the first few days. Part of my concern is that it's been a little over 2 weeks since the incident and the symptoms still have not completely gone away (sensitive & slight pain when biting hard). Could that be tooth trauma even after that period of time and no complete recovery, or could it be a concern for a tooth crack?

It is difficult to answer without examining the teeth. I’d does not sound like a crack in any case. I suggest you wait a bit longer and see whether it disappears

 

[toraflora]

I've also been aware of the possibility of a vertical root crack because I heard that it's particularly hard to identify. My dentist did do an x-ray and said there wasn't anything, but I'm not sure if a simple x-ray will do in identifying a potential vertical crack. Also, the x-ray was done only 5 days after the incident, so would any signs of vertical crack evidence (any inflammation or any infection near the root) show? I don't know if there's anything I should do to confirm or any action I should take at this point, or to just wait it out.

 

[MountainMama]

Maybe trauma to the ligament around the tooth? My dentist said those can takes 6 weeks or better to heal, but will slowly improve over time.

 

[toraflora]

I think it's been 6 weeks since the incident, and it's still very sensitive. I'm still too scared to eat on the side of the affected teeth and when I lick the affected teeth, it's not really "pain," but more of a sensitive feeling I guess. There's still some spontaneous aching around that area as well. Any thoughts?

Edit: I visited a dentist 1.5 weeks ago, he said he couldn't tell from the x-ray.

 

[MountainMama]

Has the dentist tested the tooth by having you bite on that hard plastic stick? Mine did that for me, and was checking for pain on release of bite.

I am on the fence about my tooth that was diagnosed as cracked, as my jaw aches and the tooth is super sensitive to heat and cold, but it didn't hurt when I bit on the stick thing at the dentist's office.

 

[toraflora]

Has the dentist tested the tooth by having you bite on that hard plastic stick? Mine did that for me, and was checking for pain on release of bite.

I am on the fence about my tooth that was diagnosed as cracked, as my jaw aches and the tooth is super sensitive to heat and cold, but it didn't hurt when I bit on the stick thing at the dentist's office.

I’m in the same boat right now. My dentist tested it the first time and it didn’t hurt biting on the stick, but hurt when I released my bite from something more soft and chewy, like my finger.