“How to diagnose a cracked tooth?”
Two months ago, I bit down on a hard piece of vegetable, and “felt something give” on a lower left back tooth. After a few days of hoping the mild pain would go away, it didn’t. I saw my dentist, and he was unable to confirm any problem with any specific tooth via x-ray or pressure, or tapping, or cold tests. He suspected the tooth that had a 40 year old composite filling because he noticed part of the filling had broken off. So, he fixed that by adding a composite filling on top of the existing one, hoping to resolve the problem. But two months later I still have pain in the area that varies in intensity, but is never acute, and I still can’t isolate it to a specific tooth. I’d describe The pain as mild, more constant than not, and occasionally throbbing. It is exacerbated by chewing in the area, and so I favor that side. But I have not been able to cause a lot of pain by deliberately chewing a raw carrot, say, on that side, but the more I chew the worse it gets. What can be done to diagnose this?
Male | 56 years old
Complaint duration: 2 months
Conditions: None
4 Answers
It sounds like a crack that has damaged the nerve. Cracked tooth pain is sharp. Very sharp and specific. Only when biting a certain way or on small hard foods. Constant pain is usually a sign a nerve is dying. May be hard for the dentist to find but I would go back and see if it is showing up yet.
To determine if the tooth is cracked you can place a cotton roll or Q-tip on the affected area and press hard if pain upon removal it will confirm the tooth is cracked.
A crown and sometimes root canal is indicated
A crown and sometimes root canal is indicated
Ultimately, the diagnosis of a cracked tooth is made with a combination of clinical examination and radiographs. If a cracked tooth is suspected, the patient needs to have a CBCT (a 3-D scan done), which will verify, or negate a cracked tooth.
Sometimes, the pain that you’re reporting can just be due to the filling being too “high” or just not hitting at the right place when biting. This is a simple fix at your dentist’s office, without having to get numb.
Sometimes, the pain that you’re reporting can just be due to the filling being too “high” or just not hitting at the right place when biting. This is a simple fix at your dentist’s office, without having to get numb.
The dental office you went to sounds like they almost did everything they should have to diagnose your problem. A cracked tooth is one of the MOST difficult things to diagnose in dentistry. The 2 other tests I would suggest would be:
1) Test the teeth in that quadrant with a tooth sleuth.
2) Transilluminate the teeth in that quadrant.
1) Test the teeth in that quadrant with a tooth sleuth.
2) Transilluminate the teeth in that quadrant.
