Difference between a Cracked Tooth and Chipped Tooth

The procedures like tooth canal or tooth surgeries happen in severe cases of cracked lines that appear on the tooth. One must not worry if the lines are just evident on the enamel part. A cracked tooth requires serious attention than a chipped one which is fixed by simply cleaning it and bonding it.

Having healthy teeth is very important to have for a lifetime as no one wants to really see a dentist for tooth surgeries later in some dental clinic. We can notice that with age our teeth can develop some cracked lines on their outer surface called enamel, they can be due to the wear and tear and can be evidently seen by looking closely in the mirror. But one must not freak out and should not take it as a serious concern as long as they don’t penetrate into the inner layer of teeth. These crack lines are often called craze lines. There is just a simple tip to remember which is if you feel consistent pain in your teeth then it means they require treatment.

Basically, there are different types of cracked lines and depending upon how deep their damage is, the dentist will recommend treatment according to it. Any sensitivity in the teeth felt while eating, chewing or drinking can be a result of these cracks. The treatments for these cracked teeth can vary from a simple crown to an extreme of removing of the whole tooth.

The distinction between a cracked and chipped tooth

A cracked tooth is evident basically at the back of your mouth where most of the chewing takes place. The treatment for the cracked tooth can be serious than that of chipped one for the reason in the former case the patient has to undergo root canal surgery if the crack went deep inside the teeth.

The common treatments depending upon their severity under cracked tooth are-

1. Least – In this case, the tooth will be fixed by placing the crown on it to cover the damage.

2. Medium-If the crack went deep inside the tooth then the dentist will fix it by performing root canal surgery and then covering it with the crown to cover the damage.

3. Most – It is an extreme case where the tooth is all together extracted where the crack has extended really very deep inside the tooth and the dentist is left with the choice of removing the tooth and implanting a new one. In this case, a dentist will give his best to just fix the damage and not to resort to the extraction process.

A  chipped tooth is evident in the front area and its treatment simply requires a day to fix the tooth functionality and aesthetics by bonding a tooth-colored filling.