I just found out that I have to get a crown on my lower molar because my tooth fractured. What causes this?
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Hi! I've been in dentistry for over 25 years and typically this is called a stress/trauma fracture. Chewing gum will not do this as the motion of the lower jaw is a lateral excursion (moves side to side) and not direct impact force. Clenching during the day and then grinding at night in your sleep force direct impact on the tooth into the bone. When the tooth can no longer take the pressure it fractures. This is why I would recommend you get a custom made mouth guard made by your dentist after you get the crown.
History tends to repeat itself so if you continue to grind and clench you will fracture/chip the porcelain on your crown and then may need a root canal with on going trauma to the tooth.
Try this. Work on finding your triggers during the day. Bad drivers, being late, unhappy relationships, etc. When you feel your shoulders lock and you start to clench open your mouth, breath through your nose and out your mouth. Relax. This will take time and once you can begin work on this, the less stress to your teeth. The mouth guard will help at night and you should be able to stop the process of breaking teeth from repeating itself. If you have any other questions, please ask. Marie
Decay
It could be from chewing ice cubes. The cold causes teeth to crack, and even a tiny hairline frature can fall apart years later.
If one tooth has broken and ice is the cause, you can expect several more to fall apart in the same manner.
It happened to me, after years of chewing gum. I broke off 3 corners. The crown was no big deal - the root canal was my most uncomfortable (not painful) experience of my life. But I'm a guy, so I never had a pap smear :-) Although I'll soon be old enough to need a prostrate exam.
10 years later, I had a crown fitted on the matching tooth in my upper jaw :-(
Sometimes the tooth just forms incorrectly - I had several where the tooth did not fully form inside, and left a open pocket. That's like putting enamel around a balloon, it's not stable. Then you bite on something or hit your tooth, and it breaks. That hole can also be caused by decay. Or if you were on antibiotics as a young child, it can make the enamel soft on your teeth and they just don't hold up well.
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