Treating Cracked Teeth at Ardas Family Dental

Tooth sensitivity is unfortunately common, but don’t think that means you have to live with it, or that it’s not a big deal. At Ardas Family Dental in Parker, Colorado, we provide patients with all sorts of restorations, including implants. When a tooth is especially sensitive, or when the gum is inflamed around it, the tooth may be cracked. In those cases, we’d have several treatment options available, but patients need to be aware of the importance of getting treated as soon as possible.

Cracks can develop for all sorts of reasons, including biting down on something too hard, loss of structural integrity to tooth decay, and teeth clenching or grinding. (The last has gotten more common during the pandemic.) Sometimes, small cracks called craze lines can develop simply due to age. A craze line could be covered with a veneer, but a crack in the crown may necessitate the placement of a partial crown, or for the entire natural crown to be filed down and replaced with a prosthetic. If the crack is deep enough to reach the dental pulp, we would also do a root canal to ensure the patient is not suffering from an infection that could progress into an abscess or blood poisoning.

If a tooth is cracked below the gum line, it would likely have to be replaced entirely. If so, it may be possible for us to replace it with either an implant-supported crown or a partial denture. An implant would have the advantages of preserving the patient’s jaw bone structure, allowing them to continue their regular oral hygiene routine, and wouldn’t need to be refitted, but would also have to be replaced if the implant were to fracture. Regardless, a cracked tooth won’t heal on its own, and is likely to continue to cause the patient pain and may become an avenue for infection until it is treated.

Dr. Roopi Kattaura operates Ardas Family Dental at 10233 S Parker Rd, Suite 205, Parker, Colorado. Call 720-459-8420 or visit Ardas Family Dental and fill out a contact sheet.