Is it possible for a dentist to damage teeth while tapping them (percussion test)?

[adipatel]

I visited my dentist today for a mild toothache in my front tooth. While examining my tooth, he tapped it with the rear end of his metallic mirror to check for signs of pain. Apparently, the "taps" felt a bit too hard to me.

As far as my tooth is concerned, there's nothing wrong with it. X-Rays showed that it's normal. But now I'm concerned whether those hard taps could've damaged my tooth? I'm in slight discomfort, but unsure whether it's the tapping that caused it or just my paranoia, since my tooth was already in mild pain.

Is it really possible for a dentist to crack or damage a tooth while tapping it hardly?

Thanks.

 

[rob wain]

The percussion test won't do any harm to the tooth. It's much less than the force you use to bite hard onto a solid bit of food so don't worry.