Pain when you bite? It could be a cracked tooth.

Common signs of a cracked tooth

• Sharp pain when biting, especially when you release
• Sensitivity to cold that comes and goes
• Pain you cannot pin to one tooth
• A visible crack or a chipped cusp
• Gum swelling beside one tooth

What happens, step by step

1. Look

   Careful questions, a bite test, a microscope examination and dye to reveal the crack.

2. Explain

   We show you where the crack runs and what that means for the tooth.

3. Protect

   Many cracked teeth need a crown or onlay to hold them together, sometimes with a root canal.

4. Review

   We follow the tooth to check that it settles.

Not all cracks are the same

Fine craze lines in the enamel are common and usually harmless. A cracked cusp can often be restored. A crack that runs into the nerve may need a root canal and crown. A split tooth, or a crack that runs down the root, usually cannot be saved.

Treating early improves the odds, because a crack tends to deepen with chewing.

Questions patients ask