Ever so often, a patient has a ‘sensitive tooth’, that seems perfectly normal, but may have a small existing amalgam filling within it. When a high definition photo of the tooth is shown, they usually point to an adjacent tooth that ‘looks worse’.
When the crack on the tooth is marked, they usually don’t recognize it. What is a cracked tooth? Here is one such example, photographed after the existing filling was removed. It already looks bad.
How to Detect a Cracked Tooth
X-rays cannot detect a crack and often, the tooth has never been filled and yet develops a crack. A crack can be on the surface or may have gone down into the root. The only way a dentist can detect a crack is by removing all existing fillings and exploring this tooth with high magnification.
If a crack is caught early, the tooth may yet be saved. However, often a patient ignores a ‘sensitive tooth’ because it is not busted yet. There is the expression, “If it ain’t busted, why fix it?”.
Then one morning, eating a slice of bread, a loud and painful crack is felt, due to a catastrophic split down the middle. The tooth is now destined for the extraction bucket and a dental implant is the next step. All this expense may have been prevented with a timely annual dental check-up.
Get Started With Caring 4 Smiles
At Caring 4 Smiles, we scan every patient for hidden cracks and try our best to minimize the unexpected with preventive dental care. Preventive Dentistry is for kids and adults at every age.
For your comprehensive dental examination, book online.
We look forward to welcoming you at Caring 4 Smiles Dental Group in Epsom, NZ.