Can a Dental Crown Cover a Cracked Tooth?

How Does a Crown Cover a Cracked Tooth?

A crown works by providing a sturdy covering over the portion of your tooth that needs to be replaced. Your dentist will shape the damaged tooth to fit the crown, which is then placed over the tooth like a cap and cemented into place to cover the crack and absorb some of the force from biting.

This additional support can be extremely valuable, because a tooth that contains a crack can flex when you use it which can cause the crack to widen or cause sections of the tooth to separate. Crowns prevent this by surrounding and supporting whatever portion of the tooth remains.

When Is a Crown a Good Option?

A crown is a good option in the majority of cases involving a cracked tooth. The simplest way of looking at this is that a tooth with a viable core that can be reshaped to accept a crown is a good candidate for the procedure. It is common for teeth with upper structure cracks to be viable for crown placement.

Your dentist will look at the location and visibility of the crack in order to decide the best method of repair. In some cases, a root canal must be performed on the affected tooth before beginning crown preparation to ensure that the pulp of the tooth is not damaged and to minimize risk.

• Cracks located above the gum line are generally more easily repaired, which is a relief because such cracks are also more likely to appear damaged and unrepairable than they are to be hidden and viable for future crown placement.

• When the integrity of the tooth is high enough to allow for a crown to be placed around the crack, the tooth can gain significant support without requiring more radical measures.

When Won’t a Crown Save the Tooth?

Unfortunately, in some cases there are simply too many complications involved with crown placement or the existing integrity of the tooth is too low to allow for any form of successful restoration. In these cases, your dentist may talk to you about extraction.

This is typically the case when a tooth has been severely cracked either vertically or horizontally in a manner which causes the root or another section to split away from the main body of the tooth. 

Another common reason for extraction instead of crown placement or other restoration types is when the integrity of the tooth is compromised beneath the gum line. In some cases there just isn’t enough material left in the root for a crown to properly adhere to.

What If the Tooth Hurts?

Tooth pain is incredibly common in the case of a cracked tooth, although it should be noted that in some cases a crack may not be particularly painful. You might find yourself wincing when using the tooth, but then finding that the discomfort simply vanishes once you stop chewing.

Sensitivity to cold is another common symptom, as is intermittent pain that seems to have no discernible trigger.

What Happens Before the Crown?

There is very little in the way of spectacle or ceremony when visiting the dentist to get a crown. You will be numbed, prepared, measured, fitted with a temporary crown while the real one is being constructed, and then have your permanent crown installed and your bite adjusted so that the new tooth doesn’t put unecessary pressure on the opposing teeth.

It is also typical to feel very aware of your temporary crown, but this sensation will fade quickly as you get used to the strange feeling of having a false tooth in your mouth.

So, Can a Crown Cover a Cracked Tooth?

Yes, when a crack is a viable candidate for restoration and there remains enough material to allow for proper crown placement. Crowns provide significant support to a tooth while also reducing the stresses that the tooth is exposed to during mastication.

However, in the case of a crack that extends all the way to the root or causes a tooth to split open, this support will not be enough to restore a nonviable tooth to full functioning capacity. This is why cracked teeth must be carefully examined by a dentist before any attempt at crown placement.

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