If a tooth is so far decayed that the cusps are completely gone, but there is no real need to extract the tooth, or if a tooth is damaged and incomplete but otherwise healthy, then it is time to get a dental crown. Your tooth will be shaped and a dental crown will be placed on top of the tooth stub, restoring healthy chewing and biting functions for years to come. But the tooth underneath the crown can break, crack or become damaged. This threatens the stability of the dental crown, and is the cause of many potential dental problems, from tooth decay to damaging the gums, and you may even swallow your crown!
Cracked tooth syndrome is caused by some kind of damage that has occurred to the tooth stub underneath the dental crown. This can be damage due to improper oral care, as then the tooth stub decays, as it is a tooth just like any other. Many patients neglect the teeth that have dental crowns, thinking that they are already done, and need no further support. They need to be cleaned and flossed, just like other teeth. If this does not happen, tooth decay will set in, and may jeopardise the stability of the dental crown.
In order to prevent the tooth stub under the crown form decaying, it is important to treat it like any other tooth. This might not be your first instinct, as it is an artificial tooth, and it is made of porcelain and does not hurt. But it needs care just like any other tooth, as it is a tooth, with all of the parts of the tooth on it. This means that you will need to brush it, floss it, and pretty much do everything to it that you normally would to a tooth. If you keep up a rigorous oral hygiene routine that includes the teeth with prosthetics like dental crowns on it, you should be able to avoid cracked tooth syndrome.
If you have cracked tooth syndrome, you will need to go to a dentist immediately. The dentist will need to take the crown off, and will need to restore your tooth, before putting a new crown on. Since your tooth has changed, the original crown will no longer fit properly, even if it is in perfect condition, and a new one will have to be made. The tooth underneath will need to be root canaled, but if it broke close enough to the gum ling that restoring it is no longer an option, then an extraction will become necessary.
