Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Cracked Tooth Syndrome

By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, October 03, 2005
STORY: CRACKED TOOTH SYNDROME
SCRIPT #622 SHOOT: 9/7/05
AIRDATE: Monday, October 3, 2005
Daybreak and Midday
DHC Master #21 Timecode: 37:49

Viewer Inquiries:
Dr. Jeff Roy
4301 N. MacArthur
Suite 100
Irving, TX  75038
972-255-3712
www.21stcenturydental.com

Do you have a tooth you tend to avoid when chewing? You may have a difficult-to-diagnose problem called “cracked tooth syndrome.” Dr. Linda Niessen explains this common condition in today’s segment of Dental Health Check.

Three months ago, Carla Obara developed a pain in her lower back molar. It hurt when she chewed. “I thought it was just a sensitive tooth. And then it started hurting when I bite down on food. From there, it just got worse. Every time I would chew anything, it would hurt, even gum.”

Carla has a very common problem:  cracked tooth syndrome. It usually affects teeth that have large fillings in them.

“And it just got worse, the pain. And then Monday, it just cracked when I was eating,” said Carla.

Here are some things of interest about Cracked Tooth Syndrome:

“A cracked tooth is a tooth that when it’s loaded, it moves independently of itself," said dentist Dr. Jeff Roy "It flexes. And a long those fracture lines, there is sharp sensation or pain."

Dentists can diagnose cracked tooth syndrome by having the patient bite down on the suspicious tooth. Diagnosis can also be done by A variety of instruments including one called the fracture finder.

“These things are as frustrating for the dentist as the patient sometimes. It’s hard to reproduce it in the office," said Dr. Roy.

X-rays may or may not be helpful in diagnosing cracked tooth syndrome. In Carla’s case, the x-rays showed no problem.

Dr. Roy added, “We want to catch that crack early before it gets to the nerve or down to the root surface and you lose the tooth.”

Carla is lucky. The fractured tooth can be saved with a porcelain crown.

If you have pain when you bite down, suspect a cracked tooth as the cause of the problem,. especially if you have large fillings in your back teeth or molars. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science Center, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.

Dr. Niessen says nighttime grinding also can cause cracked tooth syndrome. Your dentist can prescribe a custom fitted mouth guard to wear while you sleep to protect your teeth.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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