Can a bread chip crack a tooth so it splits into two pieces ???

[Lucubrate]

My right upper cuspid tooth was healthy until two weeks ago when I chewed on a salad. I had sudden severe pain even going to the center of my upper lip and the tooth has been painful and swollen ever since. The salad had 4 mm. thick hard bread chips buried inside and other else was there when I spit out. I showed the spit salad to the dentist. Then a periodontist filed the surface down so my other teeth now touch. He said this tooth is split in two down the center!!! Can a hard bread chip really do this to a cuspid tooth just with one strong bite?

The dentist and periodontist say yes, but they might be trying to make me feel better.

 

[MattKW]

A canine? Or a premolar? Canine is 3rd from front, premolars are 4th and 5th from front.

 

[Lucubrate]

A canine? Or a premolar? Canine is 3rd from front, premolars are 4th and 5th from front.

Tooth #12... what's the name of it? It is split!!!

 

[MattKW]

OK, 1st premolar. These teeth typically have 2 roots, and there is a shallow groove running between the roots on the mesial surface. Even if undamaged by decay or fillings, these teeth can split through the middle, and that's the end of them. Had a lady once who broke #12 one week, extracted; then came back 2 weeks later having broken #5 in same way. Both were virgin teeth, with deep cuspal inclines.

 

[Lucubrate]

OK, 1st premolar. These teeth typically have 2 roots, and there is a shallow groove running between the roots on the mesial surface. Even if undamaged by decay or fillings, these teeth can split through the middle, and that's the end of them. Had a lady once who broke #12 one week, extracted; then came back 2 weeks later having broken #5 in same way. Both were virgin teeth, with deep cuspal inclines.

Really? But this bread chip was only 4 mm thick. It was buried in soft finely cut lettuce and kale.

Can I do without this tooth or should a new tooth be implanted?

Just posted a new thread on implant screw selection. I'm scared of getting an implant.

 

[MattKW]

They can crack with little force if you're unlucky. Sure, you can do without the tooth, unless you don't like the appearance. OK, over to other forum...

 

[Lucubrate]

They can crack with little force if you're unlucky. Sure, you can do without the tooth, unless you don't like the appearance. OK, over to other forum...

It's tempting to try out the implant since the TV ads for ClearChoice show that it preserves bone, and I can experience what an implant is like since I'll need one in the future on a back tooth molar.

I do feel a shallow groove on #12 and also the same tooth on the left side. My other teeth don't seem to have that sunk in long area. Had no idea that this tooth is more vulnerable than the others.

The implant docs around here seem to prefer crowns made of zirconia and not enamel or gold or a combo.