Could this be a cracked tooth?!
Question: Could this be a cracked tooth?
I went to the dentist 2 weeks ago and was told I have a cracked tooth. (It diagnosed that way because my dentist had me bite down on a tooth sleuth which elicited pain, the tooth is sensitive to cold, it didn't hurt when he tapped on the tooth and nothing showed up on the x-ray). For the last several weeks I would get horrible pain if I bit on anything hard, but the pain would go away shortly after. It throbbed on and off by itself for a few days (not because I was biting anything) on and off for a few days. I went in to get a crown (it's what my dentist recommended) this past Thursday. After my old composite filling was removed, he started looking to see where the tooth was cracked- except he couldn't find a crack. Couldn't find one with magnification or with dye. I have trouble staying numb, so rather than do the crown, he replaced the filling with a new composite filling. He said to call if it was still giving me trouble in a few days. Well, it's done nothing but throb- anywhere from a mild to moderate throb and it is still sensitive to cold. Is it possible that the tooth really is cracked even though my dentist can't find it? Also, how long should I give it to see if the new filling settles down? Thanks for any advice you can give me. :)
Answers:
Sensitivity to cold make it look like cracked tooth.
The throbbing pain make it look like it's a pulpal pain
The fact you are able to locate the tooth makes it look like a periodontal pain-- something below your gums.
Pain of cracked tooth is more when you release a hard bite than when you do the actual biting.
A cracked tooth could propagate to become associated with a periodontal pocket so ask your dentist to check.
A pulpal sensibility test might also help-- if not already done.