Cracked teeth: A more serious in 2018 than in 1964

Problems related to cracked teeth are the third leading cause of tooth loss after caries and periodontal disease. Yet to this day, the management of cracked teeth has not received the attention it deserves -- neither in dental schools nor in continuing education. As a result, most dentists today cannot adequately identify common types of cracks. They fail to examine teeth properly, such as with transillumination, magnification, or methylene blue dye, to rule out cracks. Most notably, cracks are not managed appropriately and treatments are administered that will later be sabotaged by "hidden" cracks. This article is intended to generate awareness of the cracked-tooth problem among dentists, to serve as a primer for a continuing education Masterclass Series I created on the subject, and to encourage our profession to cultivate awareness and education on this topic.