When most people think of a cracked tooth, they tend to conjure up visions of a severely jagged tooth that would be painfully conspicuous. However, the truth of the matter is that a cracked tooth can be quite difficult to pinpoint. Moreover, cracked teeth are also quite common, as they do not exclusively need trauma to develop. You could end up cracking your tooth if you suffer from bruxism, biting down or hard food and more. As such, cracked teeth can go undetected for a while, and this would pose the risk of bacterial infections and your overall oral health being compromised. It is, therefore, prudent to know how to spot the signs of a cracked tooth and seek emergency dental care at your earliest convenience. So what are some of the telltale symptoms of a cracked tooth?
Symptom 1: You are finding it hard to pinpoint the pain
A small crack in your tooth can be difficult to see, especially if it is on one of your back teeth. Therefore, you could be experiencing pain in your mouth but simply have a general sense of which area it is coming from, as you are unable to isolate which single tooth is causing it.
In some cases, it is not uncommon to mistake the pain from the cracked tooth as overall jaw pain since you sometimes cannot tell where exactly the pain is coming from.
You may also find yourself subconsciously adjusting your bite pressure to reduce the amount of pain you experience, which would make it even harder for you to tell where the pain is emanating from. If you cannot pinpoint the source of your tooth pain, it is best to seek emergency dental care to diagnose the underlying problem.
Symptom 2: You are experiencing temporary pain
Another symptom of an undetected crack in your tooth is experiencing inconsistent pain. For some individuals, the pain may come and go on an irregular basis, which would make them overlook the problem, assuming that it will remedy itself.
The one thing to bear in mind is that you tend to chew foods differently. Thus, minimal pressure may be exerted on the cracked tooth when you are eating certain foods whereas others will result in increased pressure, leading to the throbbing of the affected area.
Additionally, friction from certain foods and lack thereof from other foods could also cause the inconsistency in pain. It would be advisable to see an emergency dentist before the crack becomes aggravated further.
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