I have a cracked tooth; should I book an emergency dental appointment?

Cracking a tooth might sound like a rare or strange situation but it’s fairly common and easy to do, usually on hard foods. And our dentists in St.John’s Wood are happy to help.

In general, most people understand that a damaged tooth is something that needs to be treated and this is often the case if there is any form of discomfort. Deep cracks can be exposed, making them sensitive to changes in temperature. But a patient’s experience of cracking over a long period of time can become complacent, even though this type of cracking is painful but rarely beyond treating. We have to explore the reasons as to why cracking of the teeth can occur, so you can keep an eye out for it.

Night-time tooth grinding can be a common source of cracking teeth as well as having uneven chewing pressure when eating. Night-time guards are available to prevent grinding in the clinic; even the pressure long-term, however, you may require some form of orthodontic treatment. Misalignment can result in placing an excess amount of pressure on a protruding tooth in order to crack it during everyday wear and tear. Either way, cracked teeth need to be addressed as it was a sign of a form of structural weakness in the tooth. If the crack is from a cavity or has now formed a nook in the tooth, this can be exploited by bacteria to form a cavity in the near future.

Not all dental cracks are visible with the naked eye but if you have a sharp pain when biting down hard which fades as quickly as it came, this is one of the signs of a cracked tooth and a sign that the crack in the tooth is opening up under pressure exposing the nerve. This exposure closes again as soon as the pressure is reduced; if you notice this, you should attempt to book an appointment as soon as possible. Our dentist in St John’s Wood maintains a number of empty slots during our daily appointment schedule allowing us to provide same day emergency care.

A crack in a tooth which extends down below the gum line can act as a conduit for bacteria to gain access to the jawbone and beneath the tooth. This can cause dental abscesses and would have to be addressed with a root canal unless the crack is treated in time.

There are many treatment options available to us which depend heavily on how the cracks present in your case; the most minor form of surface cracking can be addressed with a polish in order to smooth out the tooth surface and a fluoride sealant to to help reinforce the enamel against further damage.

A full fracture of the tooth is a crack that penetrates from the surface enamel and goes all the way to the root but with the two pieces remaining in place, this crack can progressively spread over time if not treated. Our dentist in St Johns Wood will endeavour to hold the tooth together using filling material; if the crack continues to spread down the tooth, a crown may be required to hold the tooth together.

A split tooth is the most dramatic form of crack, dividing the two into two pieces with molars who have two individual roots. There may be the option to recover the tooth via crowning it but for the front teeth or canines it will usually result in the tooth having to be extracted.