Can Vertically Cracked Tooth Salvaged? (photo)

Generally a tooth with a vertical fracture is hopeless and should be removed. The enamel/dentin that make up the hard part of the tooth do not have a blood supply and therefore cannot heal by the same methods as bones. The pain decreases because the pulp (nerve) of the tooth will degenerate once exposed to oral bacteria. The longer the situation persists, the greater chance of further damage including infection around the tooth and bone loss that will compromise your... more

Roots of teeth do not heal like bones. There is no blood supply or bone cells in the root to do this. To further complicate things, the nerve or pulp of the tooth is compromised and will mostly likely die which is why your pain may have gone down. This dead tissue will be a source for acute or chronic infection and cause bone destruction around the root. It cannot be fixed even with a root canal and a crown, because the crack will continue to leak bacteria. We have not developed a... more

The mere fact that the pain has decreased and the mobility seems to have decreased, does not mean the tooth is healing. Unlike bone, the cementum of the root surface will not fuse together. You will continue to lose precious bone along the fracture line and may jeopardize your future ability to have an implant placed.