Analysis of 154 cases of teeth with cracks

Byoung-Duck Roh, Young-Eun Lee

Roh BD, Lee YE. Analysis of 154 cases of teeth with cracks. © Blackwell Munksgaard, 2006. Abstract – It is well known that cracked teeth occur most frequently in the mandibular molars with large or poor restorations, in those over 50 years of age. However, with increasing knowledge and experience with cracks of teeth, cracks appear to be found frequently in intact teeth without restorations. The aim of this study is to analyze the cases of tooth cracks in a dental hospital in a year, and to find out the characteristic features of cracks of teeth. For 1 year, each tooth that were identified as a cracked tooth was recorded and analyzed in terms of the classification of cavity and restorative material, the nature of opposing tooth, the location in the arch, the age and gender, and the clinical signs and symptoms, and treatment result. Cracked teeth were observed most frequently in the teeth with no restorations (60.4%) and with class I restorations (29.2%). The most prevalent age was in those over 40 years of age (31.2% in their 40s, 26.6% in their 50s) and the prevalence was similar in men (53.9%) and women (46.1%). Cracked teeth were found most frequently in the maxillary molars (33.8% in first molar, 23.4% in second molar) than in the mandibular molars (20.1% in first molar, 16.2% in second molar). 96.1% of the cracked teeth responded to the bite test, and 81.1% of the cracked teeth were observed in the mesiodistal direction. The prevalence of cracked tooth was highest in the intact teeth with no restoration, in maxillary molars, and in those over 40 years of age. When examining a intact maxillary posterior tooth that is sensitive to a bite and thermal change, crack in the mesiodistal direction need to be considered one of the causes.