Can a Cracked Tooth Cause Pain? What It Feels Like and Why

What cracked tooth pain feels like

It is rarely a constant ache. More often it is brief and specific:

• A sharp pain on biting, often worst when you let go rather than when you press
• A quick zing from cold water or cold air, gone in a few seconds
• Pain with sweet or hot food on one tooth only
• A tooth you cannot quite pin down, because it behaves on some days

A deep cavity usually announces itself. A crack tends to hide. Most people who come to us with this have been avoiding one corner of their mouth for weeks and hoping it would sort itself out. It is a very human plan. It rarely works, and we explain why in whether a cracked tooth can heal on its own.

Why a crack hurts

A tooth is a hard shell around a soft centre (the pulp, which holds the nerve and blood vessels). When the shell cracks, the two halves flex slightly under the pressure of chewing. That tiny movement tugs on the nerve, and the pain you feel on release is the crack closing again.

Cold and sweet foods travel along the crack and reach the nerve directly, which is why a single sip can set it off. Between those moments the tooth is quiet, and that is the part that misleads people into waiting. Our post on tooth pain when biting goes through the other causes of the same symptom.

Pain that looks like a crack but is not

Pain on biting or with cold does not always mean a crack. A new filling that sits slightly high, a cavity, gum disease, a sinus problem in the upper back teeth and night-time grinding can all do it. A dentist can tell them apart with a bite test on each cusp, a cold test and an X-ray. Cracks are often invisible on the X-ray, so what you tell us about when it hurts is part of the diagnosis.

If the pain is mostly from cold, tooth sensitive to cold covers the more common causes. If you have bite pain but the X-ray has already come back clean, this case of bite pain with a clean X-ray is worth reading.

When the pain means more than a crack

A crack that reaches the nerve lets bacteria in, and the picture changes. Pain that starts on its own and throbs, pain that wakes you at night, swelling in the gum or cheek, a bad taste, or a small bump on the gum all suggest the nerve is inflamed or infected. That tooth usually needs a root canal and a crown. Our guide to cracked teeth, their types and whether they can be saved explains how cracks are classified.

Go to an emergency room, not a dental clinic, if there is swelling that spreads toward the eye or down the neck, difficulty swallowing or breathing, or fever with facial swelling. If you are unsure which side of the line you are on, the emergency room versus the dentist sets it out.

When it can wait, and when it should not

If the tooth only twinges on biting and the pain is mild and short, it can wait for the next available appointment. It should not wait for months. A crack does not close up, and a small one is much easier to hold together than one that has split. Chew on the other side until you are seen, avoid ice and hard nuts, and take over-the-counter painkillers as the label says if you need them.

Treatment depends on how deep the crack goes. A shallow crack may only need a crown to hold the tooth together. If the nerve is involved, a root canal and then a crown is the usual route. A crack that runs into the root can mean the tooth cannot be kept, and we will tell you that before we start. Details are on our cracked tooth repair page for Beit Shemesh, and the same service is available for Ramat Beit Shemesh, about 2 km from the chair. The American Association of Endodontists has a plain guide to cracked teeth, and the American Dental Association's MouthHealthy page is a good second source.

If it flares up on a Thursday night in Beit Shemesh

Our clinic at Harav Kook 28/1 is open Sunday to Thursday 8:00 to 20:00 and Friday 9:00 to 17:00, and Shabbat is for genuine emergencies only. A cracked tooth that bites back on Thursday evening is a harder problem than the same crack on Sunday morning, because the weekend is long and the pain does not keep office hours. Same-day appointments are possible at the Beit Shemesh clinic. Dr. Joel is USA-trained and treats in English and Hebrew, so you can describe a pain that comes and goes in whichever language is easier.

To get a sore tooth checked in Beit Shemesh, call or WhatsApp Urgent Dental Care on 055-985-8845.